The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

YMSM 480
Portrait of Miss Philip in Black

Portrait of Miss Philip in Black

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1896/1898
Collection: Whereabouts Unknown
Accession Number: none
Medium: oil
Support: canvas
Size: ca 192.4 x 92.4 cm (75 ¾ x 36 3/8")
Signature: unknown
Inscription: unknown
Frame: unknown

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
Portrait of Miss Philip in Black, Whereabouts unknown

Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, The Hunterian
Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, The Hunterian

Harmony in Black: Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, 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
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:

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
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
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
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

Authored by Whistler

Catalogues 1855-1905

Journals 1855-1905

Monographs

Books on Whistler

Books, General

Catalogues 1906-Present

Journals 1906-Present

Websites

Unpublished

Other


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.