The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1261
r. and v.: Butterfly
Date
r. and v.: Butterfly date from 1890/1892.
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
v.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
They are catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1261).
Images
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
v.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
Subject
Description
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
v.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
A butterfly on a distorted trefoil, remotely derived from Whistler's monogram 'JW', with in addition, a barbed tail; the one on the verso is crossed out. It is a design for Whistler 1892 [more]. A cut-out butterfly from the first edition of The Gentle Art of Making Enemies is stuck on the recto.
Technique
Composition
r.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
v.: Butterfly, Library of Congress
Designs for Whistler 1892 [more]. The butterfly on the recto was used as the signature to 'Auto-Biographical'- a letter to the Editor of the Pall Mall Gazette, dated 27 July and published 28 July 1891, stating that a painting exhibited at Dowdeswell's gallery (Pink and Grey: Three Figures y089) had been thrown out for destruction by Whistler. The butterfly on the verso is the opposite way up from the recto, and has been crossed out. It was not used in either edition.
History
Provenance
- 1890/1892: probably sent by Whistler to William Heinemann (1863-1920), London publisher.
- 1917/1921: given by Elizabeth Robins Pennell (1855-1936) and Joseph Pennell (1860-1926) to the Library of Congress.
For further details see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1261).
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. 1261) as 'r. and v.: Butterfly'.
Authored by Whistler
- Whistler, James McNeill, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, London, 1890, p. 46.
- Whistler, James McNeill, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, 2nd edition, London and New York, 1892, repr.p. 288.
Websites
- Library of Congress website at https://www.loc.gov.