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

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Head of an Old Man Smoking

Provenance

  • By 1905: owned by the sculptor Charles L. Drouet (1836-1908) , Paris;
  • 1908: bequeathed by Drouet to the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris;
  • 1909: accepted by the Musée du Luxembourg, Paris;
  • 1922-1925: exhibited in the Musée du Louvre, galerie du Jeu de Paume, Paris;
  • 1925: transferred to the Musée du Louvre, Paris;
  • 1983: transferred to the Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

According to the Pennells, Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) of Detroit wanted it, but was not prepared to give Drouet the 2000 francs asked. 1

Exhibitions

  • 1905: Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (no. 3) as 'Head of an Old Man smoking'.

It was not exhibited in Whistler’s lifetime.

Notes:

1: Pennell 1921C [more] , pp. 92-93.

Last updated: 1st November 2020 by Margaret