The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Rosalind Birnie Philip dates from about 1902.

Rosalind Birnie Philip, Colby College Museum of Art

It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1705). The record has been updated.

Images

Subject

Sitter

Rosalind Birnie Philip, Colby College Museum of Art

Whistler's ward, sister-in-law and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958).

Technique

Technique

Rosalind Birnie Philip, Colby College Museum of Art

Finely outlined, intricately shaded and cross-hatched, this is an informal and relaxed portrait of Whistler's ward and youngest sister-in-law.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death, and bequeathed to his ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1955: bought by Colnaghi's, London art dealers.
• Date unknown: owned by Louis Crispin Warmington (d. 1961).
• Date unknown: acquired by Harold Wright (1885-1961), art dealer at Colnaghi's, London;
• 1962: sold at auction, Sotheby's, London, 28 March 1962 (lot 12), and bought by Agnew's, London dealaers;
• 1963: bought by Kenneth A. Lohf (1925-2002), New York.
• 2013: given by Paula Crane Lunder (b. 1935) and Peter H. Lunder (b. 1933) to Colby College Museum of Art.

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. 1705) as 'Rosalind Birnie Philip'.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• Reff, Theodore, and Allen Staley (eds), From Realism to Symbolism: Whistler and His World, Columbia University, New York, 1971 (cat. no. 48).
• MacDonald, Margaret F., Notes, Harmonies, and Nocturnes: Small Works by James McNeill Whistler, M. Knoedler and Co., New York, 1984 (cat. no. 11).

Websites

• Colby College Museum of Art website.