The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Study for Dress dates from 1873/1876.

Study for Dress, Fitzwilliam Museum

The drawing was partially catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 500) but has since been located: the entry has therefore been revised.

Images

Subject

Sitter

Possibly Agnes Mary ('May') Alexander (1862-1950) or Fanny Leyland (1857-1880), but the faceless figure is not easily identified.

Technique

Technique

Study for Dress, Fitzwilliam Museum

The slim figure is emphasized by the narrow dress and close-fitting bust and sleeves. The face has no features and the girl's hair is barely indicated. The dress is cursorily outlined, with multiple outlines on the skirt. The colour is applied in long strokes, appearing grainy on the rough paper. The touches of white at neck and wrists stand out startlingly.

History

Provenance

• 1870s: acquired, probably from the artist, by William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916), London;
• 1916: passed by family descent to relatives of W. C. Alexander;
• 2016: accepted by H. M. Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.

Exhibitions

• 1903: possibly Collection of Pictures, Drawings, Prints and China, and Decorative Furniture, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1903 (36 or 37) as 'Pastel Sketch'.
• 1905: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 115) as 'Study for Dress.'

It has been suggested, but is unlikely, that it was exhibited by William Marchant in 1903. ¹

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 500) as 'Study for Dress'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• Possibly Collection of Pictures, Drawings, Prints and China, and Decorative Furniture, Burlington Fine Arts Club, London, 1903 (36 or 37) as 'Pastel Sketch'.
• Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 115) as 'Study for Dress.'

Websites

• Hale, Felix, 'Whistler's Women to join Fitzwilliam Museum Collection', Sotheby's, 11 December 2016, Blog, repr. as 'Girl in a long Blue and Red Dress'.
• 'Whistler Studies Allocated to the Fitzwilliam', Fitzwilliam Museum 2016, website.
• 'The Study for a Masterpiece on Display after 100 years', press release, 12 December 2016, Fitzwilliam Museum, Website, repr. as 'Girl in a long Blue and Red Dress'.
• Fitzwilliam Museum website.

Other

• Whistler Society, Newsletter, London, December 2016.