The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0322
r.: Study for 'Symphony in White No. 3'; v.: Draped figures
Date
These two sketches, Study for 'Symphony in White No. 3' and Draped figures, probably date from between 1865 and 1867.
r.: Study for 'Symphony in White No. 3', Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
v.: Draped figures, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
They were catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 322) where they were dated ca 1865.
Images
r.: Study for 'Symphony in White No. 3', Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
v.: Draped figures, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Symphony in White No. 3, Barber Institute
A Composition: four nudes, The Hunterian
Subject
Description
r.: Study for 'Symphony in White No. 3', Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
The recto shows two woman in profile to left, on a sofa. The woman at left is reclining, reading a journal or newspaper. The one to right sits, leaning forward to look over her shoulder.
v.: Draped figures, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
The verso shows four or five women lying, sitting and standing on and around a long bench.
Sitter
Symphony in White No. 3, Barber Institute
The sitters for the painting were Joanna Hiffernan (b. ca 1843-d.1886) and Emelie 'Millie' Eyre Jones (1850-1920).
Technique
Composition
r.: Study for 'Symphony in White No. 3', Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
Symphony in White No. 3, Barber Institute
The drawing on the recto is a study related to Symphony in White, No. 3 y061, but shows the figures in quite different poses.
v.: Draped figures, Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute
A Composition: four nudes, The Hunterian
The rough sketch on the verso is one of several, including A Composition: four nudes m0350, that may be ideas for an unrealised figure composition involving people listening to a musician.
The influence of Albert Joseph Moore (1841-1893) appears strongly in these drawings. Moore's The Marble Seat 1 , exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1865, includes similar figures, though not in this arrangement.
Conservation History
The drawing was torn in four pieces by the artist but rescued and repaired, probably by Thomas Way (1837-1915).
History
Provenance
- 1865/1878: torn up by the artist and intended for destruction;
- 1870s: retrieved and repaired, probably by Thomas Way (1837-1915) or his son Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913), London;
- 1913/1915: bought by Pickford Robert Waller (1849-1930), London;
- 1930: bequeathed to his daughter Sybil Christina Waller (1882-1973);
- 1965: sold at Christie's, London, 12 November 1965, and bought by Knoedler's, New York dealers;
- 1969: bought by the Munson-Williams-Proctor-Institute on 19 May 1969.
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. 322) as 'r.: Study for 'Symphony in White No. 3'; v.: Draped figures'.
- Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 61).
Notes:
1: Private Collection. Sotheby's, New York, 5 May 2011 (lot 76).