The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1313
r.: Étude de Femme Nue; v.: Nude study
Date
r.: Étude de Femme Nue; v.: Nude study date from 1890/1894. It is not absolutely certain that the drawings were by Whistler, but since the sheet has not been located, and the provenance is good, it has been included in this catalogue.
r.: Étude de Femme Nue, Drouot, 25 Nov. 1903 (lot 11, repr.)
The drawings are catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1313).
Images
r.: Étude de Femme Nue, Drouot, 25 November 1903 (lot 11)
v.: Nude study, no image available.
Subject
Sitter
r.: Étude de Femme Nue, Drouot, 25 November 1903 (lot 11)
Not identified. The drawing was owned by Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878 but she is unlikely to be this model.
Technique
Technique
r.: Étude de Femme Nue, Drouot, 25 November 1903 (lot 11)
Knoedler's records (# WCA 2790) described this drawing as black and sanguine chalk on the recto, and sanguine on the verso. Whistler rarely drew in sanguine. There is a certain awkwardness in the pose (which makes the model look knock-kneed) and in the use of line, and the shading behind the figure. It is possible that this drawing was not by Whistler, and was by someone else in his studio. It is known only from a photograph.
History
Provenance
- 1898/1901: probably acquired from Whistler's studio by Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878, Paris;
- 1903: sold at auction, Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1903 (lot 11, repr.) as 'Etude de Femme Nue';
- 1903: with William Stephen Marchant (1868-1925), London art dealer.
- Date unknown: acquired by Hunt Henderson (1869-1939), New Orleans;
- 1939: passed to his estate;
- Date unknown: bought by Knoedler's, New York dealers, and sold to a private collector but lost in transit.
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. 1313) as 'r.: Étude de Femme Nue; v.: Nude study'.
Catalogues 1855-1905
SALE:
- Drouot, Paris, 25 November 1903 (lot 11, repr.) as 'Etude de Femme Nue'.
Journals 1906-Present
- Forthuny, Pascal, 'Notes sur James Whistler', Gazette des beaux-arts, vol. 30, no. 557, 3rd series, November 1903, pp. 381-91, repr. p. 381.