The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0270
An artist sketching
Date
An artist sketching dates from between August and October 1858.
An artist sketching, Freer Gallery of Art
The drawing is the basis for the etching An Artist Sketching [23], which was dedicated to Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910) and printed by Auguste Delâtre (1822-1907) in November 1858.
The drawing is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 270).
Images
An artist sketching, Freer Gallery of Art
An Artist Sketching, British Museum 1916-12-16-1
Subject
Sitter
An artist sketching, Freer Gallery of Art
The artist is probably Ernest Delannoy (d. 1869/1872), who accompanied Whistler on the Rhineland trip, although it could be a self-portrait.
Technique
Composition
An artist sketching, Freer Gallery of Art
An Artist Sketching, British Museum 1916-12-16-1
This sketch is the basis for the etching An Artist Sketching [23], which was Whistler's first design for a title page for the 'French Set', Douze Eaux-Fortes d'après Nature (Twelve Etchings from Nature).
Conservation History
The sheet was probably taken from a sketchbook. Over fifty drawings, many in sketchbooks, most of which dated from 1857-1858, were apparently given to Whistler's half-sister Deborah and/or her husband, Francis Seymour Haden, and were later removed from the sketchbooks.
History
Provenance
- 1858: probably given to Deborah Delano Haden (1825-1908) or her husband Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910);
- 1898: sold through Wunderlich, New York dealers, to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919);
- 1919: bequeathed by C. L. Freer to the Freer Gallery of Art.
See further details in r.: Les Côtes à Dieppe; v.: Cliffs and building m0222.
Exhibitions
It was not, as far as is known, exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
Due to the conditions of Freer's will, it cannot be lent to another venue.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 270) as 'An artist sketching'.
- Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2012, website (cat. no. 23).
Catalogues 1906-Present
- Curry, David Park, James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art, New York and London, 1984, p. 214, pl. 157.
Websites
- Freer Gallery of Art website at https://asia.si.edu/object/F1898.207, as 'An Artist Sketching'.
- Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2012, website (cat. no. 23).