Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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Portrait of H. C. Pollitt

Titles

The sole suggested title is as follows:

  • 'Portrait of H. C. Pollitt' (1980, YMSM). 1

Description

A portrait of a man.

Sitter

 Herbert C. Pollitt, photograph
Herbert C. Pollitt, photograph

Herbert Charles Jerome Pollitt (1871-1942), the son of Charles Pollitt of Thorny Hills, Kendal, Westmorland. He entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1889 and graduated BA in 1892, MA in 1896, but failed to qualify as a doctor. He came of a wealthy family and formed a fine collection of prints, and he owned a number of Whistler etchings and one drawing.

Portrait Study: Mr Herbert C. Pollitt, lithograph (C148), Art Institute of Chicago
Portrait Study: Mr Herbert C. Pollitt, lithograph (C148), Art Institute of Chicago

Whistler drew a lithographic portrait, Portrait Study: Mr Herbert C. Pollitt c148 (once known incorrectly as 'A. J. Pollitt'), in 1896. Some arrangements for sittings therefore refer to the lithograph rather than to the painting.

H. C. Pollitt, photograph
H. C. Pollitt, photograph

Herbert Charles "Jerome" Pollitt was also a female impersonator; several good photos of him in drag are reproduced by James J. Conway in 'Dress-down Friday: Diane de Rougy', in his blog, Strange Flowers. 2

Notes:

1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 452).

2: Blog, 11 October 2013, https://strangeflowers.wordpress.com.

Last updated: 7th April 2019 by Margaret