The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1341
Cupid letting a bird out of a cage
Date
Cupid letting a bird out of a cage probably dates from June 1892. It is a design for a stamp for the proposed publication of quatrains called 'Récréations Postales' by Stéphane Mallarmé (1842-1898). Whistler approached both William Heinemann (1863-1920) and Osgood, McIlvaine & Co. on Mallarmé's behalf but the project fell through. He wrote to Heinemann, 'Think what a pretty book - say for the season - Christmas or autumn whenever it is - With an arrangement to recall the Envelope! - and think what pretty things might be made out of the stamps!' 1
Cupid letting a bird out of a cage, The Hunterian
It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1341).
Images
Cupid letting a bird out of a cage, The Hunterian
Subject
Description
Cupid letting a bird out of a cage, The Hunterian
A design for a stamp featuring a cupid letting a bird out of a cage.
Technique
Composition
Cupid letting a bird out of a cage, The Hunterian
This is a design for the stamp on the cover, found in section IX of the manuscript for Recréations Postales in Glasgow University Library.
A cover designed by Mallarmé is in the form of an envelope, inscribed 'Récréations/Postales/de/ Stéphane Mallarmé‚/ JAMES R.OSGOOD/ LONDRES McILVAINE & Co/ Editeurs.' (175 x 214 mm, the flaps cut by hand irregularly. 2
Technique
It is possible that this is by Beatrice Philip (Mrs E. W. Godwin, Mrs J. McN. Whistler) (1857-1896). She drew a series of studies of cupids, one of which, posting a letter, appears to be a design for Récréations Postales. 3
History
Provenance
- 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death in 1903 and bequeathed to his sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
- 1955: gGiven by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.
Exhibitions
It 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. 1341) as 'Cupid letting a bird out of a cage'.
Websites
- The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk
Notes:
1: Whistler to W. Heinemann, [22 June 1892], GUW #08025. A selection was published in The Chap Book, Chicago, 5 December 1894, vol. 2, No. 3, pp. 111-15 as 'Les Loisirs de la Poste' and, after Mallarmé's death, in Vers de Circonstance (Paris, 1920).
2: Glasgow University Library MS Whistler M203; website at http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk.
3: The Hunterian, GLAHA 46171, 46569