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Titles
Several possible titles have been suggested:
- 'Arrangement in grey and black No. 2 – a Portrait' (1872, Society of French Artists). 1
- 'Arrangement gris' (1883, Petit). 2
- 'Grey and Black. Sketch' (1892, Goupil). 3
- 'Portrait of the Artist' (1895, Goupil). 4
- 'Portrait of the Artist' (1905, ISSPG). 5
- 'Portrait of the Painter' (1909, Royal Academy). 6
- 'Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter' (1980, YMSM). 7
As the portrait of Thomas Carlyle (Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle [YMSM 137]) has been called 'Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2' since Whistler's important one-man exhibition in 1874, a possible confusion has been avoided here by using the title 'Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter' for Whistler's self-portrait.
Description
Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter, Detroit Institute of Arts
A half-length self-portrait of the artist in vertical format. He stands in three-quarter view to left. He wears a pale grey jacket, a black cravat over a white shirt, and a black hat with a broad round brim. In his right hand, seen at lower left, he holds two square bristle brushes. The hand is awkwardly positioned, and the lower part of his torso is largely scraped down. Behind him is a grey wall and a black dado.
Sitter
London Stereoscopic Co., J. McN. Whistler, 1879, GUL Whistler PH1/97
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903).
Whistler permitted Percy Thomas (1846-1922) to etch this self-portrait as a frontispiece for A Catalogue of the Etchings and Drypoints of James Abbott MacNeil Whistler in 1874, insisting only that he should check a proof. 8
Whistler's biographers, the Pennells, thought that this was the first self-portrait to show Whistler's lock of white hair. 9 MacDonald comments on Whistler's appearance, including the white lock, as presented in this and other portraits:
'He self-consciously refined his distinctive appearance. One conspicuous feature was a white lock – a genetic mutation called the Waardenburg syndrome – emphasized by the arrangement of his hair. A visitor to the Whistler household, Anne Benson Procter, described him acutely as 'a very remarkable looking person – dark – eyes and hair – and one white lock, on his forehead – all the family have this – He thinks very highly of his own works.' 10
Notes:
1: Fifth Exhibition of the Society of French Artists [Winter Exhibition], Deschamps Gallery, London, 1872 (cat. no. 30).
2: Exposition Internationale de Peinture, Galerie George Petit, Paris, 1883 (cat. no. 2).
3: Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces, Goupil Gallery, London, 1892 (cat. no. 30).
4: A Connoisseur's Treasures [Alexander Ionides Collection], Goupil Gallery, London, 1895 (cat. no. 10).
5: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 30).
6: Exhibition of Modern Works in Painting and Sculpture forming the Collection of the late George M. McCulloch, Esq., Winter Exhibition 40th year, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1909 (cat. no. 299).
7: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 122).
8: Whistler to R. Thomas, [5 May 1874], GUW #13681. Thomas 1874 [more].
9: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, pp. 80, 137; Pennell 1911 A [more], p. 57. MacDonald 2015 [more], at pp. 207-08.
10: Whistler's half-sister Deborah had a similar white lock, see A. M. Whistler to K. Palmer, 21 May - 3 June [1872], GUW #09938; A. B. Procter to E. Forrest, 1 June 1877, GUW #12485; Whistler to T. Child, [October/November 1889], GUW #09264.
Last updated: 31st December 2020 by Margaret
