The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

YMSM 498
Nude on Sofa

Nude on Sofa

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1899/1900
Collection: Whereabouts Unknown
Accession Number: none
Medium: oil
Support: wood
Size: unknown
Signature: unknown
Inscription: unknown
Frame: unknown

Date

Nude on Sofa may date from between 1899 and 1900, and certainly before Whistler became ill late in 1900. 1 While he was convalescing in Corsica, Whistler's ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958), listed a 'Little nude figure on sofa' among small panels in his studio at 8 Fitzroy Street on 16 February 1901. 2

The sale of a 'Little full length nude on sofa' for £420 to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) was recorded in May 1902, but it does not appear ever to have been part of his collection. 3

Images

Nude on Sofa, Whereabouts Unknown
Nude on Sofa, Whereabouts Unknown

The Little White Sofa, Fogg Art Museum
The Little White Sofa, Fogg Art Museum

Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players, The Hunterian
Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players, The Hunterian

Subject

Titles

Descriptive titles have been suggested:

Description

A nude sitting or lying on a sofa.

The Little White Sofa, Fogg Art Museum
The Little White Sofa, Fogg Art Museum

It is just possible it is The Little White Sofa y258, although that shows a thinly draped model.

Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players, The Hunterian
Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players, The Hunterian

There are several studies in pastel showing a nude or nudes on a sofa, and at least one in oil, Flesh Colour and Silver: The Card Players y496, showing two nudes on the sofa. It is possible that the missing painting was related to this painting, which is dated 1896/1899.

Sitter

Unknown.

Technique

Technique

Unknown.

Conservation History

Unknown.

Frame

Unknown.

History

Provenance

The sale of a 'Little full length nude on sofa' for £420 to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) of Detroit was recorded in May 1902, but it does not appear in his collection, so the sale may not have been confirmed. 7

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime, as far as is 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Unpublished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. 498).

2: GUL Whistler BP II Ledger c, pp. 5-6.

3: GUL Whistler BP II Ledger c, pp. 169-70.

4: Note, 16 February, 1901, GUL Whistler BP II Ledger c, pp. 5-6.

5: May 1902, GUL Whistler BP II Ledger c, pp. 169-70.

6: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 498).

7: Note, GUL Whistler BP II Ledger c, pp. 169-70.