The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Head of a Girl dates from 1903. ¹ In 1903, according to Way & Dennis, ‘a short time before his death [Whistler] painted in two sittings a study of a girl’s head, which in mastery of handling is equal to anything he ever produced.' This portrait may have been either Dorothy Seton y551 or Dorothy Seton - A Daughter of Eve y552. ²

Images

Subject

Titles

Suggested titles are as follows:

• 'a study of a girl's head' (1903, Way & Dennis). ³
• 'Head of a Girl' (1980, YMSM). ⁴

'Head of a Girl' is the preferred title.

Description

The portrait of a girl, showing only the head, possibly similar to, or identifiable as Dorothy Seton - A Daughter of Eve y552.

Dorothy Seton – A Daughter of Eve, The Hunterian

Sitter

Possibly Dorothy Seton (fl. 1885-1900), who sat for Dorothy Seton y551 and Dorothy Seton - A Daughter of Eve y552.

Technique

Technique

Way & Dennis praised Whistler's 'mastery of handling' in this portrait, but give no further details. ⁵

Conservation History

Unknown.

Frame

Unknown.

History

Provenance

Unknown.

Exhibitions

Unknown.

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. 554) as 'Head of a Girl'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• None.

Journals 1855-1905

• None.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Way, Thomas Robert, and G. R. Dennis, The Art of James McNeill Whistler: An Appreciation, 1st edition, London, 1903, p. 4.

Books, General

• None.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• None.

Journals 1906-Present

• None.

Websites

• None.

Unpublished

• None.

Other

• None.