The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1521
Nude tending a pot of flowers
Date
Nude tending a pot of flowers may have been drawn about 1898 for Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932) on paper belonging to William Heinemann (1863-1920). Stylistically it could date from later, around 1900/1901.
Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection
It was catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1521).
Images
Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection
The White Symphony: Three Girls, Freer Gallery of Art
Rose et argent: Fleurs de printemps, The Hunterian
Spring, Terra Foundation for American Art
Subject
Description
Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection
The standing nude appears to be growing a pot of butterflies.
Technique
Composition
Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection
The White Symphony: Three Girls, Freer Gallery of Art
Rose et argent: Fleurs de printemps, The Hunterian
Spring, Terra Foundation for American Art
The recurring theme of a crouching or bending figure tending flowers dates back to the 1860s, in The White Symphony: Three Girls y087 and The Three Girls y088. However it recurs frequently in Whistler's work; see, for instance A crouching nude tending a flowering plant m1389, Rose et argent: Fleurs de printemps m1391, and Spring m1397.
Technique
Nude tending a pot of flowers, Private Collection
The figures and pot stand are drawn with multiple outlines.
Conservation History
The drawings must have been done with the paper folded, since they are not the same way up, the one on right was drawn with the paper at right angles to the first (moved anti-clockwise). The fold and edges are soiled.
History
Provenance
- 1898: possibly drawn for Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932), New York art dealer, passed to his brother, David A. Kennedy (fl. 1895-1915), and, by family descent, to their great-nephew, Sarasota, Florida;
- 1981: bought by a private collector, Sarasota;
- 1984: consigned to Knoedler's, New York dealers, and sold to a private collector.
Further details are in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1521).
Exhibitions
It was not exhibited in Whister'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. 1521) as 'Nude tending a pot of flowers'.