The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

This probably dates from 1855, either shortly before or shortly after Whistler arrived in Paris.

The Fishwife, private collection

For more information on this work, see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 212) where it was dated 1855/1857.

Images

Subject

Description

The head and shoulders of a woman smoking a pipe, facing slightly to left (her right). The face is wrinkled and weathered. A scarf or scarf and cap, cover her hair. The head could either be a man or a woman, but the traditional title identifies it as a woman.

Sitter

The Fishwife, private collection

This is probably a study from life, but the sitter has not been identified.

Technique

Composition

The Fishwife, private collection

The Fishwife, private collection

This is a detailed study for the oil, also called The Fishwife y006.

Conservation History

The Fishwife, private collection

It is slightly damaged and discoloured.

History

Provenance

• 1855/1857: probably given to Walter Winans (1852-1920) and family;
• 1920: probably passed by family descent to his daughter Celeste Marguerite Winans (Mrs G. M. Hutton) (1855-1925);
• 1925: passed by family descent to her daughter Lucette Marguerite Prichard (1885-1957) née Hutton, and family;
• 1957: passed by family descent to her daughter Sybil Agnes Prichard, Mrs E. G. Walk (1915-2009), and family;
• By 1995: passed by family descent to a private collection.

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 212). This record has been amended.

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 212) as 'The Fishwife'.
• Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 6) oil, 'The Fishwife'.