The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Designs for staircase for 49 Princes Gate probably dates from March 1876.

Designs for staircase for 49 Princes Gate, British Museum

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 578); the history has been revised.

Images

Subject

Site

Designs for staircase for 49 Princes Gate, British Museum

A design for the hallway at the house of Frederick Richards Leyland (1832-1892) in 49 Prince's Gate, London.

Technique

Composition

Designs for staircase for 49 Princes Gate, British Museum

A design for the hallway at the house of Frederick Richards Leyland (1832-1892) in 49 Prince's Gate, London.

Conservation History

The sketch was placed in an album.

History

Provenance

• 1870s: possibly given to Frances Leyland (1834-1910);
• Before 1910: possibly acquired by William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916), London;
• 1916: possibly bequeathed to Rachel Alexander (1875-1964) and Jean Ingelow Alexander (1877-1972);
• 1958: given by the Misses Alexander to the British Museum.

The history of this drawing before 1958 is uncertain. According to the Pennells, the drawing was in the Estate of Frances Leyland (1834-1910) in 1921. ¹ There is no record of the date of its acquisition by W. C. Alexander or his daughters. However, if it was owned by Mrs Leyland earlier (that is, before her death in 1910) it would still fit with the subsequent information.

Exhibitions

There is no record of an exhibition.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 578) as 'Designs for staircase for 49 Princes Gate'.
• Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (panels, cat. no. 176).

Books on Whistler

• Merrill, Linda, The Peacock Room. A Cultural Biography, New Haven and London, 1998, p. 179, repr. fig. 4.31.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, repr. f.p.104 as 'Sketch of Stairway at Leyland's House'.