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

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M.1482
Whistler raiding the Chelsea Arts Club

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1896
Collection: Glasgow University Library
Accession Number: MS Whistler P323
Medium: pencil
Support: cream laid paper, yellow embossed heading '4, WHITEHALL COURT, / S.W.', partial watermark 'JOYNSON/ FINE QUALI...', f.s.
Size: 7 1/4 x 6" (195 x 152 mm)
Signature: 'the General' on letter
Inscription: 'These gentlemen in the first throes of digestion with the "toad in their belly["]! ha! ha!! - '

Whistler raiding the Chelsea Arts Club

Technique

Whistler raiding the Chelsea Arts Club, Glasgow University Library
Whistler raiding the Chelsea Arts Club, Glasgow University Library

The drawing is in the same ink as the letter. There is the suggestion of a butterfly with wings folded around him. By blotting the ink, the shadows engulfing the demonic figure became grey.

Conservation History

The caricature is on the third side of a four-sided letter.

Last updated: 5th March 2021 by Margaret