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

 

M.1481
Skull and crossbones (b)

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1896
Collection: Library of Congress, Washington, DC
Accession Number: E. R. and J. Pennell Collection
Medium: pencil, pen and black ink
Support: cream laid paper, embossed heading in blue, '4, WHITEHALL C0URT,/S.W.', watermark 'JOYNSON/FIRST QUALITY'
Size: 7 1/16 x 8 13/16" (180 x 224 mm)
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: none

Skull and crossbones (b)

Provenance

  • 1896: probably sent by Whistler to William Heinemann (1863-1920) , London;
  • 1922: sold at auction, Heinemann sale, American Art Association, New York, 13 January 1922 (lot 243).
  • 1920s: acquired by Elizabeth Robins Pennell (1855-1936) and Joseph Pennell (1860-1926) ;
  • 1927/1936: given to the Library of Congress.

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1480-1481).

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Last updated: 23rd February 2021 by Margaret