The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Draped figure seated, holding a fan dates from 1865/1868.

Draped figure seated, holding a fan, The Hunterian

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 327).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Not identified, although, as the inscription by Harold Wright (1885-1961) suggests, it could be Joanna Hiffernan (b. ca 1843-d.1886).

Technique

Composition

Draped figure seated, holding a fan, The Hunterian

It is possible that it is a study related to Symphony in White, No. 3 y061 or The Artist in his Studio (Whistler in his Studio) y063. However it is more likely that it marks the shift in Whistler's work towards the semi-classical subjects known as the 'Six Projects'.

Technique

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 327).

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1958: bequeathed to the University of Glasgow.

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. 327) as 'Draped figure seated, holding a fan.

Books on Whistler

• MacDonald, Margaret F., 'Joanna Hiffernan and James Whistler: an Artistic Partnership' in Margaret F. MacDonald (ed.), The Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan and James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and Washington, 2020, pp. 15-31.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• Spencer, Robin, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1969 (cat. no. 65).
• Green, Richard, Albert Moore and his Contemporaries, Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle-on-Tyne, 1972 (cat. no. 131).
• Le Symbolisme en Europe, Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, 1975 (cat. no. 259).
• Dorment, Richard, and Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler, Tate Gallery, London, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1994-1995 (cat. no. 20).
• Tedeschi, Martha, and Britt Salvesen, Songs on Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography, Chicago, 1998.
• MacDonald, Margaret F. (ed.), The Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan and James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and Washington, 2020 (exhibition rescheduled to 2022).

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.