The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 480
Portrait of Miss Philip in Black
Date
Portrait of Miss Philip in Black may have dated from between 1896 and 1898. 1
Walford Graham Robertson (1867-1948) described seeing in Whistler's studio 'a girl in black, painted I think from his sister-in-law, Miss Philip, standing by a table covered with a white cloth on which were silver tea or breakfast things. It was a large canvas, about the size of the "Rosa Corder", and at the moment most beautiful.' 2
During the winter of 1895-1896 Whistler's sisters-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) and Ethel Whibley (1861-1920), were helping to nurse his wife, Beatrice Philip (Mrs E. W. Godwin, Mrs J. McN. Whistler) (1857-1896), who was terminally ill. They may also have posed to him at this time, and certainly did so in subsequent years.
Images
Portrait of Miss Philip in Black, Whereabouts unknown
Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, The Hunterian
Harmony in Black: Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian
W. & D. Downey, Mrs John Birnie Philip and family, 1895/1909, platinum print,
GUL Whistler PH1/165
Subject
Titles
Only one title has been suggested:
- 'Portrait of Miss Philip in Black' (1980, YMSM). 3
Description
It was described by W. G. Robertson as 'a girl in black, painted I think from his sister-in-law, Miss Philip, standing by a table covered with a white cloth on which were silver tea or breakfast things.' 4
Sitter
W. & D. Downey, Mrs John Birnie Philip and family, 1895/1909, platinum print,
GUL Whistler PH1/165
The sitter was described as Whistler's 'sister-in-law, Miss Philip'. This probably meant Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) rather than Ethel Whibley (1861-1920). Both of them were posing for Whistler but Ethel, formerly Ethel Philip, was by this time Mrs Charles Whibley.
Technique
Composition
Although the portrait has not survived, W. G. Robertson's description suggests links with extant portraits.
Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, The Hunterian
Whistler painted several portraits of Rosalind Birnie Philip. It is possible that Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing y479, which shows her beside a table, was a study for the missing full-length.
No surviving portrait of Miss Birnie Philip in black is the size of Arrangement in Brown and Black: Portrait of Miss Rosa Corder y203, which Robertson owned, 192.4 x 92.4 cm (75 ¾ x 36 3/8") and which he compared to the missing portrait.
Harmony in Black: Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian
Whistler did paint a large – 187.2 x 89.7 cm (73 3/4 x 35 1/4") – full-length, Harmony in Black: Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip y419, about this date, though the surroundings described by Robertson are not present in the portrait in its completed state.
Technique
Unknown.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
Unknown.
Exhibitions
None 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. 480) as 'Portrait of Miss Philip in Black'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- None.
Books, General
- Robertson, W. Graham, Time Was: the Reminiscences of W. Graham Robertson, London and New York, 1931, pp. 188, 193.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- None.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 480).
2: W. G. Robertson 1931 A [more], pp. 188, 193.
3: YMSM 1980 [more], (cat. no. 480).
4: W. G. Robertson 1931 A [more], pp. 188, 193.