The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 243
Portrait of M. R. Elden (1)
Date
Portrait of M. R. Elden (1) dates from 1882. 1
On 11 June 1882 Alan Summerly Cole (1846-1934) recorded in his diary a visit to Whistler, 'He has begun a full length portrait of Eldon [sic].' 2
According to the Pennells, this full-length portrait, 'a fine thing', which they knew from a photograph, and a small version of it, dating from 1882, had 'vanished.' 3
In an undated letter, Whistler urged Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885) to come for a sitting, possibly for this portrait:
'I hope you will turn up early tomorrow morning at the Studio - in time for breakfast
Do be there by 9. o'clock - so that we might begin the day betimes - Every thing gets so late! we must turn over a new leaf!' 4
However, there is no further reference to the portrait.
Images
Portrait of M. R. Elden (1) , Whereabouts unknown
Portrait of M. R. Elden (3), private collection
Subject
Titles
A variant title gave the sitter's name incorrectly:
- 'Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1)' [sic] (1980, YMSM). 5
The portraits of Elden have been numbered to avoid confusion, and the spelling of his name has been corrected. The preferred title is therefore 'Portrait of M. R. Elden (1)'.
Description
According to the Pennells it was a full length portrait of a man. 6
Sitter
The artist Matthew Robinson Elden (1839-1885) was a close friend and frequent visitor to Whistler's studio from about 1876 until he went mad, dying in an asylum in 1885.
Portrait of M. R. Elden (3), private collection
Whistler painted three portraits of him, Portrait of H. R. Eldon (1) y243, Portrait of H. R. Eldon (2) y244, and Portrait of H. R. Eldon (3) y245, which is the only one extant.
His name, incorrectly spelled as 'Eldon' in earlier publications, was corrected to 'Elden' in the online Whistler Correspondence edition in 2003.
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
Unknown.
Exhibitions
Unknown.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 243) as 'Portrait of M. R. Elden (1)'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, p. 303; vol. 2, p. 26.
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 5th (revised) edition, London and Philadelphia, 1911, pp. 135, 154.
- Way, Thomas Robert, Memories of James McNeill Whistler, the Artist, London and New York, 1912, p. 12.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, 1855-1903, edited by Margaret F. MacDonald, Patricia de Montfort and Nigel Thorp, University of Glasgow, 2003-2004, website at https://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/correspondence/people.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 243).
2: Copies, 27 March 1872-18 April 1885, GUW #13132; 1872-1894, GUW #03432.
3: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303; vol. 2, p. 26.
4: [1882/1884], GUW #12819.
5: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 243).
6: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 303; vol. 2, p. 26.