The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1145
Sketchbook
Date
Designs for an Album for Queen Victoria, Sketchbook, p. 35, The Hunterian
The Sketchbook includes notes dating from 1886 to 1887, such as the draft of a letter to Henry Du Pré Labouchere (1831-1912), 21 August 1886 (published in Truth, 2 September 1886), and one to Alexander Johnston Cassatt (1839-1906) regarding Arrangement in Black, No. 8: Portrait of Mrs Cassatt y250. The drawings mainly date from 1887. One, reproduced above, is a design for an album to be presented to Queen Victoria (1819-1901) and is inscribed '1887'.
It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1145).
Images
Blue-green edge on Sketchbook, The Hunterian
Scrolls and plan, Sketchbook, The Hunterian, inside front cover
Man in billycock hat, Sketchbook, p. 1, The Hunterian
Gable end of a house, Sketchbook, p. 5, The Hunterian
Designs for an Album for Queen Victoria, Sketchbook, p. 35, The Hunterian
Monogram VR, Sketchbook, p. 36, The Hunterian
Designs for an Album for Queen Victoria, Sketchbook, p. 37, The Hunterian
Designs for an Album for Queen Victoria, Sketchbook, p. 38, The Hunterian
Head and shoulders, Sketchbook, p. 44, The Hunterian
Sketchbook, p. 46, The Hunterian
woman wearing a hat, Sketchbook, p. 58, The Hunterian
Sketchbook, pp. 78-79, The Hunterian
Head of a boy, Sketchbook, p. 80, The Hunterian
Yacht, Sketchbook, p. 82, The Hunterian
Dog or cat, Sketchbook, p. 84, The Hunterian
, Sketchbook, The Hunterian, inside back cover
Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of Master Stephen Manuel, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
Monogram 'VR' on Naval Review Album , The Hunterian
Subject
Sitter
Head of a boy, Sketchbook, p. 80, The Hunterian
Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of Master Stephen Manuel, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC
It is possible that this pencil drawing shows Stephen Manuel (1880-1954), who had posed for Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of Master Stephen Manuel y321 in 1885.
Technique
Composition
Designs for an Album for Queen Victoria, Sketchbook, p. 35, The Hunterian
Designs for an Album for Queen Victoria, Sketchbook, p. 37, The Hunterian
Monogram 'VR' on Naval Review Album , The Hunterian
The sketchbook includes designs for an album containing Whistler's etchings of the Jubilee Naval Review, as sent to Queen Victoria (1819-1901). There are two known extant copies of this album, one in the Hunterian and one in the Art Institute of Chicago.
Conservation History
Blue-green edge on Sketchbook, The Hunterian
Scrolls and plan, Sketchbook, The Hunterian, inside front cover
The sketchbook contains 84 sides of cream wove paper with blue-green edge. The paper is thin, and has a fine, neatly chequered texture. It is slightly browned and some sheets are abraded or folded.
History
Provenance
- 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
- 1958: bequeathed by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.
Exhibitions
The sketchbook 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. 1145) as 'Sketchbook'.
Websites
- The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.
- The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, 1855-1903, edited by Margaret F. MacDonald, Patricia de Montfort and Nigel Thorp; including The Correspondence of Anna McNeill Whistler, 1855-1880, edited by Georgia Toutziari. Online edition, University of Glasgow, 2003-2004, GUW #09014, #13351, #13352, #13353, #13355, #13356, #13357.