The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1304
A woman and a baby asleep on a sofa
Date
A woman and a baby asleep on a sofa was originally intended as a lithograph, which may have been drawn in Paris in late October or early November 1891. 1 It is dated by comparison with several lithographs including Mother and Child, No. 3 c052, Mother and Child, No. 2 c053 and Mother and Child, No. 4 c054. However, the pen drawing may have been done later (Whistler used purple ink during the period 1892-1894).
A woman and a baby asleep on a sofa, The Hunterian
It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1304).
Images
A woman and a baby asleep on a sofa, The Hunterian
Subject
Sitter
A woman and a baby asleep on a sofa, The Hunterian
Possibly Rose Amy Pettigrew (1872-1958) and her niece.
Technique
Technique
It was, lik
A woman and a baby asleep on a sofa, The Hunterian
e Mother and child reclining m1305, drawn on thin transparent transfer paper prepared by Henri Belfond (fl. 1891-1894) of the Imprimerie Belfond & Cie, with gum coating on the side intended for a drawing in lithographic crayon. By mistake, Whistler drew on the un-gummed side, and as a result the crayon drawing could not be transferred to stone and printed. Instead, as Spink et al point out, he carefully drew over the composition in pen and ink, probably on the gummed side. 2
History
Provenance
- 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
- 1935: given by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.
Exhibitions
It was not, as far as is known, exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
By the terms of Miss Birnie Philip's Gift, this work cannot be lent to another venue.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1304) as 'A woman and a baby asleep on a sofa'.
- Spink, Nesta R., Harriet K. Stratis, and Martha Tedeschi, The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler, (gen. eds, Harriet K. Stratis and Martha Tedeschi), 2 vols., Chicago, 1998, at vol. 1, 'Untransferred Lithographic Drawings', pp. 503-05 (cat. no. V) as 'Woman and Baby Asleep on a Sofa'.
Websites
- The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.
Notes:
1: Spink 1998 [more], at vol. 1, 'Untransferred Lithographic Drawings', p. 503 (cat. no. V).
2: Spink 1998 [more], at vol. 1, 'Untransferred Lithographic Drawings', p. 503 (cat. no. V).