Titles

There have been minor variations in the title:

• 'Portrait of Mr Freer' (1902, Whistler). 1
• 'Portrait of Charles L. Freer' (1980, YMSM). 2

'Portrait of Charles L. Freer' is the preferred title.

Description

Portrait of Charles L. Freer, Freer Gallery of Art

A half-length portrait of a man in three-quarter view to right, looking at the viewer. He has greying hair, a short pointed beard and a moustache curled up at the ends. He wears a reddish brown jacket and poses against a dark khaki/green background. The portrait is in vertical format.

Sitter

Charles L. Freer, photograph, Freer Gallery of Art

Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) of Detroit was Whistler's major patron from the late 1880s until the artist's death. He formed the largest collection of Whistler's work in America, and bequeathed it to the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

Portrait of Charles L. Freer, Freer Gallery of Art

Charles L. Freer, photograph, Freer Gallery of Art

Freer's rapport with Whistler comes over strongly in this vivid head with its sensitive and alert expression.