The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Caricature of F. R. Leyland dates from May or June 1879, after Whistler was declared insolvent on 8 May 1879.

Caricature of F. R. Leyland, The Hunterian

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 720).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Caricature of F. R. Leyland, The Hunterian

A caricature of Frederick Richards Leyland (1832-1892).

Technique

Technique

Caricature of F. R. Leyland, The Hunterian

It was drawn on the left half of a folded sheet of stationery, the right side being the torn edge. Where the ink is thin, on the coat-tails, it appears dark brown, but the rest is shiny black.

History

Provenance

• ca 1879: acquired by Charles Augustus Howell (1840?-1890), London, placed in an album, and labelled 'Frederick Richards Leyland. Born 30. Sep. 1831. owner of the Peacock Room.';
• After 1884: the album was acquired by Cornelius Cox (1835-1889) and returned to Whistler, who removed several letters and drawings including this;
• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1958: bequeathed by Miss Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Cornelius Cox was the father of Amy Ellen Cox, Mrs T. R. Way (1865-1949), wife of Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913). Way's father, Thomas Way (1837-1915), instructed Whistler in the art of lithography in the late 1870s and printed his lithographs.It was on the Ways' advice that the album was shown to Whistler.

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. 720) as 'Caricature of F. R. Leyland'.

Books on Whistler

• Way, Thomas Robert, Memories of James McNeill Whistler, the Artist, London and New York, 1912, pp. 77-79.

Websites

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