The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1130
r.: Woman's head, house, door; v.: Design for Address to Queen Victoria
Date
r.: Woman's head, house, door; v.: Design for Address to Queen Victoria probably date from 1887, but could date from the following year.
v: Design for Address to Queen Victoria, Library of Congress
The Address to Queen Victoria, of which this is a sketch, was sent in July 1887. 1
r.: Woman's head, house, door, Library of Congress
However, the drawings on the recto suggest a slightly later date, possibly in the autumn of 1888.
They are catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1130) dated '1887'.
Images
r.: Woman's head, house, door, Library of Congress
v: Design for Address to Queen Victoria, Library of Congress
Address to Queen Victoria, photo, Glasgow University Library
Subject
Description
r.: Woman's head, house, door, Library of Congress
It includes a figure standing in front of a tall, narrow doorway, a house front with open door, possibly seen at night, and two caricatures of the heads of women in profile to right.
v: Design for Address to Queen Victoria, Library of Congress
A rough sketch of a tall ship with square sails at left, cliffs at the top and the sun at the bottom of the sheet.
Technique
Composition
v: Design for Address to Queen Victoria, Library of Congress
Whistler prepared a congratulatory Address from the Society of British Artists to Queen Victoria (1819-1901) on the occasion of her Jubilee in 1887. The drawing on the verso of this sheet shows a ship in full sail, sailing into the sunset.
Address to Queen Victoria, photo, Glasgow University Library
The final version of the composition, (a) Monogram 'VR'; (b) Address to Queen Victoria; (c) Royal Coat of Arms m1132, contained a more stylised ship.
Technique
r.: Woman's head, house, door, Library of Congress
The woman in profile, wearing a low cut dress, was drawn with fine pointed, twitchy pen work, with little patches of shading and cross hatching; behind her, the jerky vertical shading of a house at a corner looks like certain Whistler drawings (i.e. Nocturne m0912) and etchings (The Dance House: Nocturne [455], Little Nocturne, Amsterdam [456]). At the top of the page, the tall doors, with a woman and child in front, were roughly drawn, again, mostly with vertical lines, the design a little reminiscent of Whistler's etchings of Tours and Bourges (Windows, Bourges [398], Courtyard, Rue P. L. Courier, Tours [391], dating from the Whistler's honeymoon in 1888. This raises the possibility that some of these drawings – particularly the head of a woman – were by Beatrice Philip (Mrs E. W. Godwin, Mrs J. McN. Whistler) (1857-1896).
Conservation History
The sketches on the recto are small, and detailed, drawn on thick paper which has been folded in half horizontally.
History
Provenance
- Date unknown: acquired by Joseph Pennell (1860-1926) and Elizabeth Robins Pennell (1855-1936);
- 1926/1936: given to the Pennell Collection, Library of Congress.
Thee arly provenance is unknown.
Exhibitions
It was not, as far as is known, 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. 1130) as 'r.: Woman's head, house, door; v.: Design for Address to Queen Victoria.
Websites
- Library of Congress website at https://www.loc.gov.
Notes:
1: See Society of British Artists to Queen Victoria, [6 July 1887], GUW #05969, and the receipt of the Address sent by H. Matthews on 20 July 1887, GUW #01835.