The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Mrs Willis was drawn on a letter from Whistler (who signed himself 'the general', to Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) postmarked 13 January 1897. ¹

Mrs Willis, Glasgow University Library

It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1500).

Images

Subject

Sitter

Mrs Willis, Glasgow University Library

Mrs Willis (fl. 1890/1900). Whistler was not pleased with his housekeeper. The relevant section of the letter reads:

'And if you could have seen the degraded woman of the house this morning as she crawled out of bed at 11. o'clock you would have been proud of the land and its ladies.' ²

Technique

Technique

Mrs Willis, Glasgow University Library

The letter and the quick sketch of Mrs Willis are both in the same grey-black ink drawn with a neat, square-cut nib. There are some dots in the drawing and some lines run together.

Conservation History

The paper has been folded and is soiled.

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: given 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. 1500) as 'Mrs Willis'.

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 #04696.