The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Twelve butterflies were drawn for publication in Whistler 1890 [more].

Twelve butterflies, The Hunterian

The sheet is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1246).

Images

Subject

Description

Twelve butterflies, The Hunterian

The twelve butterflies are based on Whistler's monogram 'JW', with the addition of barbed tails. They were designed for Whistler 1890 [more].

Technique

Composition

Twelve butterflies, The Hunterian

Designed for Whistler 1890 [more]. Reading from top to bottom and left to right, the sixth butterfly was not used at all, while the eleventh was used, but its body line became a zigzag: (a) p. 130, (b) p. 198, (c) p. 228, (d) p. 66, (e) p. 173, (f) not used, (g) p. 120, (h) p. 280, (i) p. 265, (j) p. 244, (k) p. 185, (l) p. 195.

For further details see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1246).

Technique

See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1246).

History

Provenance

• 1890: probably sent by Whistler to William Heinemann (1863-1920), London publisher.
• By 1905: owned by Herbert Charles Jerome Pollitt (1871-1942).
• Date unknown: possibly with James Bain, bookseller.
• 1954: bought from E. Matthews, art dealer, Bishops Stortford, by The Hunterian.

Exhibitions

• 1905: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 179) repr. f.p. 19.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1246) as 'Twelve butterflies'.

Authored by Whistler

• Whistler, James McNeill, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, London, 1890, repr. pp. 66, 120, 130, 173, 185, 195, 198, 228, 244, 265, 280.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 179) repr. f.p. 19.

Websites

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