The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Portrait study of a lady dates from 1873/1875.

Portrait study of a lady, Whereabouts unknown

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 553).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Study of a lady's head, Brown University

Portrait study of a lady, Whereabouts unknown

Study of a lady's head m0552 and Portrait study of a lady m0553 may be studies of the same (unidentified) woman,

Technique

Technique

Portrait study of a lady, Whereabouts unknown

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 553).

History

Provenance

• 1908: according to the Studio, owned by Thomas Way (1837-1915).
• 1910: possibly consigned by Otto Gutekunst (ca 1865-after 1939), London dealer, to auction, Christie's, London, 13 December 1910 (lot 16) as 'Head of a Girl', and bought by Parsons, London dealer;
• 1910: acquired, possibly in 1910, by Henry Harper Benedict (1844-1935);
• 1935: after his death, listed by his widow Katherine Geddes Benedict (1879-1961) as 'Charcoal Drawing of Head of a Lady' in the possession of herself and her daughter Mrs James Douglass Sharpe;
• 1962: sold at auction, Sotheby's, London, 21 November 1962 (lot 4) as 'Portrait of a Lady', bought by the Graham Galleries, New York;
• By 1980: sold to Paul Magriel Sr (1906-1990), New York.

There are alternative scenarios for the early provenance. One strand suggests that this, like Study of a lady's head m0552, was with Frederick Keppel (1845-1912), New York dealer, in 1904, and that it could be 'Head of a Lady' with E. G. Kennedy, another New York dealer, in 1908.

The other strand starts with the possibility that it was owned by Way (which is quite possible), sold by Gutekunst at Christie's in 1910 (which is not certain), and acquired about that time by Benedict (which is likely). This is the slightly more likely scenario.

Exhibitions

• 1904: possibly Etchings, Dry-Points, and a Few Drawings by Whistler, Frederick Keppel & Co., New York, 1904 (cat. no. 109) as 'Study of a Lady's Head' or (110) as 'Study of a Boy'.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 553) as 'Portrait study of a lady'.

Books on Whistler

• Way, Thomas Robert, Memories of James McNeill Whistler, the Artist, London and New York, 1912, repr. f.p. 36 as 'Portrait Study of a Lady'.

Journals 1906-Present

• Anon., 'Studio Talk', The Studio, vol. 45, December 1908, pp. 216-43, repr. p. 223.