The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Lyme Regis lithographs were drawn in a letter from Whistler in Lyme Regis, to T. R. Way, London, on 29 or 30 September 1895. ¹

Lyme Regis lithographs, Freer Gallery of Art

It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1443) dated 25 October 1895.

Images

Subject

Description

Lyme Regis lithographs, Freer Gallery of Art

Thumbnail sketches of seven lithographs.

Sitter

The Lyme Regis smiths, George Govier (1825-1903) and Samuel Edward Govier (1857-1934) figured in many of these lithographs.

Technique

Composition

Lyme Regis lithographs, Freer Gallery of Art

Father and Son, Lithograph, C123, Hunterian, GLAHA 49407

The Master Smith, Lithograph, C120, Hunterian, GLAHA 49603

These are drawings of Whistler's Lyme Regis lithographs. The little drawings are remarkably accurate. They show The Good Shoe c122, The Sunny Smithy c121, The Master Smith c120, Father and Son c123, The Strong Arm c125, The Little Doorway, Lyme Regis c119 and The Smith's Yard c124.

Conservation History

Originally 224 x 179 mm (8 13/16 x 7 1/16"); now two sheets each 113 x 179 mm (4 7/16 x 7 1/16"). The letter was started on the left half of a folded sheet, with the drawing on the right sheet. The two halves have been separated down the middle, to left of the drawings. Tissue paper has been laid down on both sides of each sheet, to protect it, but unfortunately obscuring the image. There are pinholes in the corners, probably dating from the reproduction of the drawing by Way in 1912.

History

Provenance

• 1895: sent to Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913);
• 1904/1905: probably sold by Way to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919);
• 1919: bequeathed to the Freer Gallery of Art.

For further details see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1443).

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1443) as 'Lyme Regis lithographs'.

Books on Whistler

• Way, Thomas Robert, Memories of James McNeill Whistler, the Artist, London and New York, 1912, repr. f.p. 116.

Websites

• The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, 1855-1903, edited by Margaret F. MacDonald, Patricia de Montfort and Nigel Thorp; including The Correspondence of Anna McNeill Whistler, 1855-1880, edited by Georgia Toutziari. Online edition, University of Glasgow, 2003-2004, GUW #03408.