The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Portrait of Miss Laura Barr dates from between 1894 and 1895. ¹

According to the Academy, when the sitter's father, Robert Barr (1849-1912), was sitting to Whistler:

'Happening one day to find it convenient and knowing how pleased Mr. Whistler would be, Mr. Barr took with him to the studio his daughter, Miss Laura Barr, then quite a child ... Mr. Whistler expressed a desire to paint a portrait of Miss Barr; consent was easily secured, and for the next few months the dainty child with the wonderful hair was almost daily in the studio ... the picture progressed and with it the enthusiasm of the painter, who gradually came to regard it with peculiar affection.' ²

According to Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1942), it was painted in his studio at 13 Robert Street. ³ That was probably between December 1894, when Whistler returned to London from Paris, and March 1895, when Whistler left London to attend the Eden trial in Paris. ⁴ According to Mrs Barr, she accompanied her daughter to Sickert's studio each day:

'Mr. Whistler added the "Butterfly" during the last few minutes he was in the studio before he left for Paris to attend his famous "suit". My daughter and I left the studio with Mr. Whistler, and the picture was still "wet" and could not have been packed that night this is without a possibility of injury. Mr. Whistler did not return again to the studio before he left for Paris.' ⁵

Again according to the Academy,

'Then came a summons for the artist to go to Paris. After some hesitation he declared that he would not go without his precious picture, which was accordingly prepared for shipment. From the time of this journey no trace of the canvas has been discovered. A wealthy American, a common friend of Mr. Whistler and Mr. Barr, had for some time been most anxious to purchase the portrait, but the painter had no recollection of when or where he had seen the work since his arrival in Paris. Artist and would-be owner visited Paris together and made every enquiry within their power, but without success. The death of Mr. Whistler's wife at about this time made it seem indelicate to worry him about other matters, and the search was abandoned.' ⁶

Pennell thought it was painted in Whistler's studio at 8 Fitzroy Street and implied, probably wrongly, that it dated from 1896, the year of Beatrice Whistler's death. ⁷

Images

Subject

Titles

Only one title is known:

• 'Portrait of Miss Laura Barr' (1980, YMSM). ⁸

Description

According to the Academy:

'The artist frequently spoke of this particular work as one which should add very greatly to his reputation and those of his intimates who had seen the picture in the making were of one mind as to its value.' ⁹

Mrs Barr described her daughter's portrait to Joseph Pennell:

'Girl, about fourteen, size less than 4 as little of the body is shown below waist. Dress indigo blue with yellow silk – old gold front and loosely bound waist band of same silk. Hair very fuzzy reaching to shoulders only, brown eyes, grey black brows and lashes. Very delicate colouring as to face a pensive sweet expression. Background – Pompeian red or pink.' ¹⁰

In a further letter to Pennell, Mrs Barr added: 'There was no chairback in the lost portrait, but the sitter did look towards the spectator.' ¹¹

Walter R. Sickert stated that he made a pencil drawing of Miss Barr while Whistler was painting her, and that Barr acquired the drawing. ¹²

Sitter

Laura Charlotte Barr (Mrs Dodd) (1880-1949). She was the daughter of Robert Barr (1849-1912) and his wife Eva Bennett (Mrs Robert Barr) (d. ca 1919). Laura Charlotte Barr was born on 10 March 1880 in the USA. In 1908 she married Harvey Dodd in Bombay, India. They had two daughters, Priscilla Dodd (d. 1982) and Alison Robertson.

Technique

Technique

Unknown.

Conservation History

Unknown.

Frame

Unknown.

History

Provenance

Unknown. According to Walter R. Sickert, it was 'lost, stolen or strayed.' ¹³

Exhibitions

No exhibition is known.

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. 429) as 'Portrait of Miss Laura Barr'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• None.

Journals 1855-1905

• Anon., ' “The Lost Whistler” - concerning the portrait of Miss Laura Barr, daughter of Robert Barr', The Academy, vol. 65, 10 October 1903, p. 390.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 2, p. 170.

Books, General

• Robins, Anna Gruetzner (ed.), Walter Sickert: the Complete Writings on Art, Oxford, 2000, pp. 195, 284.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• None.

Journals 1906-Present

• Sickert, Walter Richard, ‘Where Paul and I differ’, Art News, no. 14, 10 February 1910, p. 113.
• Sickert, Walter Richard, ‘L’Affaire Greaves’, New Age, 15 June 1911, pp. 159-60, at p. 160.

Websites

• None.

Unpublished

• Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 213).

Other

• None.