The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Mrs or Miss McNay dates from 14 March 1882, and was drawn at the McNay's house in 1 Upper Grove, South Norwood, Croydon, near London.

Mrs or Miss McNay, National Gallery of Art, DC

Fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 868).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Mrs or Miss McNay, National Gallery of Art, DC

The drawing may show Mary Isabella Cooke (Mrs T. F. McNay) (1840-1906, m. 1865), wife of Thomas Fothergill McNay (1836-1907). It is possible, but less likely, that it shows Eleanor ('Nora') Ruth McNay (1868-1886) who died prematurely on 30 January 1886.

Technique

Technique

Mrs or Miss McNay, National Gallery of Art, DC

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 868).

History

Provenance

• Date unknown: owned by Henry Nazeby Harrington (1862-1937), Birkenhead, UK.
• 1928: bought on 30 October from Charles Sessler (1854-1935), Philadelphia, by Lessing Julius Rosenwald (1891-1971);
• 1943: given to the National Gallery of Art;
• 1980: moved from Alverthorpe to the National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

The early provenance is not fully established.

Exhibitions

There is no record of an exhibition 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. 868) as 'Mrs or Miss McNay'.

Books, General

• Wadley, Nicholas, Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Drawing, London, 1991 (no. 84b).

Websites

• National Gallery of Art website at https://www.nga.gov.