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

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Lillie Pamington

Technique

Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian
Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian

It is on an unlined tabby linen canvas. The canvas was primed with a dark grey ground. Her rich reddish brown hair is painted freely with broad, bristly dryish brushstrokes. She is wearing black (a black high-necked dress and cap) but the colour is only partly, and very roughly, rubbed and brushed in, not reaching the bottom of the canvas. 1 The face is quite highly finished but the lower part of the canvas is clearly unfinished.

Conservation History

There are some fine drying cracks. The varnish is slightly uneven and yellowed. However, it is in good sound condition. 2

Frame

Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian, frame
Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian, frame
Lillie Pamington, frame detail
Lillie Pamington, frame detail

Whistlerian Flat frame, dating from the 1920s. 3 Size: 58.0 x 39.0 x 4.1 cm.

Notes:

1: Reports of examinations by Clare Meredith, 21 May 2001, Hunterian files, and Dr Joyce H. Townsend, Tate Britain, April 2017.

2: Meredith, 21 May 2001, op. cit.

3: Dr S. L. Parkerson Day, Report on frames, 2017; see also Parkerson 2007 [more].

Last updated: 22nd October 2020 by Margaret