Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death, and bequeathed to his ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1935: given by Miss R. Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

It was lent by Miss Birnie Philip, during the First World War, to an exhibition at Colnaghi's in London, where it received good reviews. The Glasgow Herald considered it 'a particularly expressive nocturne' and the Times critic wrote, 'no one could imitate that. There is … the poet who did succeed now and again among many failures, and when he succeeds we forget the failures'. 1

By the terms of Miss Birnie Philip's gift to the University of Glasgow, it cannot now be lent to another venue.