The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 452
Portrait of H. C. Pollitt
Date
Portrait of H. C. Pollitt was painted from 1896 to 1897. 1
1896: Whistler planned a series of lithographic portraits, and Ernest George Brown (1851-1915) of The Fine Art Society wrote to him that 'A. C. Pollitt' (sic) of Cambridge wanted his portrait drawn, and Whistler proposed a sitting in February 1896. 2
However, it appears that Whistler started to paint an oil portrait instead. According to the Pennells, 'the painting, which was splendidly begun ... in Fitzroy Street, was afterwards destroyed.' 3
1897: Whistler, suffering from ill health, postponed a sitting in the spring, but reassured the sitter, 'It is all right about the picture - and I shall be back in about ten days or so.' 4
1900: On 23 May 1900 Whistler wrote to Ernest G. Brown, 'I am sorry to find it now, quite impossible for me to complete the portrait of Mr Pollitt, begun years ago' and he returned their cheque for 200 guineas. 5
Images
Portrait of H. C. Pollitt, Whereabouts unknown
Portrait Study: Mr Herbert C. Pollitt, lithograph (C148), Art Institute of Chicago
Herbert C. Pollitt, photograph
H. C. Pollitt, photograph
Subject
Titles
The sole suggested title is as follows:
- 'Portrait of H. C. Pollitt' (1980, YMSM). 6
Description
A portrait of a man.
Sitter
Herbert C. Pollitt, photograph
Herbert Charles Jerome Pollitt (1871-1942), the son of Charles Pollitt of Thorny Hills, Kendal, Westmorland. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1889 and graduated BA in 1892, MA in 1896, but failed to qualify as a doctor. He came of a wealthy family and formed a fine collection of prints, and he owned a number of Whistler etchings and one drawing.
Portrait Study: Mr Herbert C. Pollitt, lithograph (C148), Art Institute of Chicago
Whistler drew a lithographic portrait, Portrait Study: Mr Herbert C. Pollitt c148 (once known incorrectly as 'A. J. Pollitt'), in 1896. Some arrangements for sittings therefore refer to the lithograph rather than to the painting.
H. C. Pollitt, photograph
Herbert Charles "Jerome" Pollitt was also a female impersonator; several good photos of him in drag are reproduced by James J. Conway in 'Dress-down Friday: Diane de Rougy', in his blog, Strange Flowers. 7
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
Unknown.
Exhibitions
Unknown. It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
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. 452), plate 433, as 'Portrait of H. C. Pollitt'.
- Spink, Nesta R., Harriet K. Stratis, and Martha Tedeschi, The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler, (gen. eds, Harriet K. Stratis and Martha Tedeschi), 2 vols., Chicago, 1998 (cat. no. 148).
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. 2, p. 168.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
On the sitter:
- Conway, James J., 'Dress-down Friday: Diane de Rougy', Blog, 11 October 2013, at https://strangeflowers.wordpress.com.
Unpublished
- Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 210).
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 452).
2: Note by M. B. Huish, 18 January 1896, GUW #01335; Brown to Whistler, 30 January 1896, GUW #01337, and Whistler's reply, [30/31 January 1896], GUW #01339.
3: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 2, p. 168.
4: [20 May/June 1897], GUW #09339.
5: Whistler to E. G. Brown and receipt signed by M. B. Huish, GUW #09338 and #01362.
6: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 452).
7: Blog, 11 October 2013, https://strangeflowers.wordpress.com.