The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2) may date from between 1857 and 1859, but both its authenticity and date are doubtful.

Anon., Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2), Freer Gallery of Art

It is quite possible that it is by Chester Harding (1792-1866), in which case it could date from the previous decade.

Images

Subject

Titles

Whistler's original title is not known. These are the only known variations:

• 'Portrait of Major George W. Whistler' (1904, 9th Annual Exhibition, Pittsburgh). ¹
• 'Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler' (1980, YMSM). ²

'Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2)' is the generally accepted title. It is numbered (2) to distinguish it from another portrait of Whistler's father, Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (1) y028.

Description

Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2), Freer Gallery of Art

A head and chest portrait of a man, in vertical format. He has dark hair, and is seen in three-quarter view to left, but looking at the viewer. He wears a white starched shirt with modest collar, a broad black cravat and a black jacket, against a black background.

Sitter

George Washington Whistler (1800-1849), Whistler's father.

It may be that this was a copy of a photograph or painting of G. W. Whistler. The only reference to Whistler having attempted a portrait of his father was in 1859 – Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (1) y028.

C. G. Crehen, Portrait of G. W. Whistler, photograph of lithograph, GUL Whistler PH1/60

Anon., Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2), Freer Gallery of Art

Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2) could be remotely based on the portrait of Major Whistler by Charles G. Crehen (1829-after 1891), and therefore tentatively identified with Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (1) y028, but it varies from Crehen's portrait in several details. The sitter is facing a different way, his head is at a different angle, being seen more from above, he is smiling, and details of his suit are changed.

Anon., Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2), Freer Gallery of Art

Chester Harding, Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler, The Hunterian

A portrait by Chester Harding (1792-1866), George Washington Whistler, oil on canvas, 76.2 x 63.5cm, came to the University of Glasgow (GLAHA 54134) with the bequest of Whistler's great-nephew Joseph Whistler Revillon (1886-1955) in 1955. ³ The Freer Gallery website comments:

'The Freer's oil portrait of Major Whistler most closely resembles another portrait, made by Chester Harding (1792-1866), and now in the collection at Glasgow University. From about 1840 until 1842, Major Whistler and Harding were neighbors in Massachusetts. Harding painted Major Whistler during this time. He also allowed his student W. S. Elwell to copy his portrait of the major. The Freer's portrait is not by Elwell. But Harding himself frequently made replicas of his own paintings, and it is possible that this portrait was executed by Harding rather than by the son of the sitter.' ⁴

Comments

Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2), Freer Gallery of Art

There is some doubt as to the authenticity of this portrait. It is not wholly consistent with Whistler's work. ⁵

There is a reference to Whistler having done a 'copy' of some painting for William Richard ('Dick') Suydam Palmer (1834-1870) in 1857, but that was probably a copy of a picture in the Louvre or the Musée du Luxembourg. ⁶

Technique

Technique

Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2), Freer Gallery of Art

It is carefully painted, with regular, even brushwork and fairly thin paint. The brushstrokes are precise and visible as separate strokes on details such as the facial features. The colouring is realistic and the modelling effective. It is definitely a highly professional work.

Conservation History

According to Freer Gallery of Art conservation records it was cleaned and surfaced in 1935 and 1951.

Frame

Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2), Freer Gallery of Art

A modern copy of a Whistler-type reeded frame.

History

Provenance

• 1850s: possibly passed by family descent from the family of Whistler's aunt, Catherine Jane Palmer (1812-1877), to Mrs George D. Stanton (dates unknown) and Emma Woodbridge Palmer (1835-1912), of Stonington, Connecticut, step-niece of the artist's mother;
• 1905: bought from Emma W. Palmer by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) of Detroit for $750 in February 1905;
• 1919: bequeathed by C. L. Freer to the Freer Gallery of Art.

Exhibitions

It does not seem to have been exhibited. By the terms of C. L. Freer's bequest to the Freer Gallery of Art, the painting cannot be lent.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 29), plate 11, as 'Portrait of Major G. W. Whistler (2)'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• The Catalogue of the Ninth Annual Exhibition at the Carnegie Institute, The Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1904 (cat. no. 308) as 'Portrait of Major George W. Whistler'.

Journals 1855-1905

• None.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Lane, James W., Whistler, (American Artists Series), New York, 1942, repr. p. 109.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, repr. f. p. 4 'by permission of Mrs Dr George D. Stanton & Miss Emma W. Palmer.'

Books, General

• None.

Catalogues 1906-Present

COLLECTION:

• Curry, David Park, James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art, New York and London, 1984, pp. 101, 291, pl. 2.
• Stubbs, Burns A., Paintings, Pastels, Drawings, Prints and Copper Plates by and attributed to American and European Artists, together with a List of Original Whistleriana in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1948, p. 11 (05.62).

Journals 1906-Present

• Bloor, Alfred Janson, 'The beginnings of James McNeill Whistler', The Critic, February 1906, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 125-35, repr. p. 131.

Websites

• Freer Gallery of Art website at https://asia.si.edu.
• Google Arts and Culture website at https://artsandculture.google.com.
• MacGregor, Jeff, 'Getting to Know Whistler’s Father', Smithsonian Magazine, June 2014, online at https://www.smithsonianmag.com.

On Chester Harding:

• The Hunterian database online at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.

Unpublished

• Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 16) 'Portrait of Major Whistler'.

Other

• None.