The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter probably dates from 1872. ¹ It is dated from the technique and signature, and from the fact that it was first exhibited in the Fifth Exhibition of the Society of French Artists [Winter Exhibition], Deschamps Gallery, London, 1872 (cat. no. 30).

Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932) understood that this self-portrait was painted by Whistler to see if he 'had kept his knack' in Valparaiso in 1866. ² Initially this might seem possible, especially since on 5 February 1867 William Michael Rossetti (1829-1919) saw, at Whistler's house in Lindsey Row, a 'clever vivacious portrait of himself begun' (see Self-Portrait y078). ³ However, in later reminiscences Whistler never mentioned having painted a self-portrait in Valparaiso, and as the major work on this self-portrait almost certainly dates from shortly before its first exhibition in 1872, it is unlikely to have been this self-portrait, in its present form, which Rossetti saw in 1867.

Carjat & Cie., J. McN. Whistler, photograph, 1864/1865, GUL Whistler PH1/95

Carjat & Cie., J. McN. Whistler, photograph, 1864/1865, GUL Whistler PH1/96

London Stereoscopic Co., J. McN. Whistler, photograph, 1879, GUL Whistler PH1/97

Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter, Detroit Institute of Arts

Although photographs document Whistler's appearance during this period, none tally exactly with his appearance in the painting. This may be partly due to his hairdresser, but on the whole, a date mid-way between the photographs of 1864 and 1879 seems reasonable.

In 1895 Whistler indignantly refused to sign the portrait again for its new owner, George McCulloch (1848-1907), and explained that the butterfly was his recognised signature. ⁴

J. McNeill Whistler, etching by William Hole in The Art Journal, October 1897

William Brassey Hole (1846-1917) etched the portrait for publication in the Art Journal in 1897. ⁵

Images

Subject

Titles

Several possible titles have been suggested:

• 'Arrangement in grey and black No. 2 – a Portrait' (1872, Society of French Artists). ⁶
• 'Arrangement gris' (1883, Petit). ⁷
• 'Grey and Black. Sketch' (1892, Goupil). ⁸
• 'Portrait of the Artist' (1895, Goupil). ⁹
• 'Portrait of the Artist' (1905, ISSPG). ¹⁰
• 'Portrait of the Painter' (1909, Royal Academy). ¹¹
• 'Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter' (1980, YMSM). ¹²

As the portrait of Thomas Carlyle (Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle y137) has been called 'Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2' since Whistler's important one-man exhibition in 1874, a possible confusion has been avoided here by using the title 'Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter' for Whistler's self-portrait.

Description

Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter, Detroit Institute of Arts

A half-length self-portrait of the artist in vertical format. He stands in three-quarter view to left. He wears a pale grey jacket, a black cravat over a white shirt, and a black hat with a broad round brim. In his right hand, seen at lower left, he holds two square bristle brushes. The hand is awkwardly positioned, and the lower part of his torso is largely scraped down. Behind him is a grey wall and a black dado.

Sitter

London Stereoscopic Co., J. McN. Whistler, 1879, GUL Whistler PH1/97

James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903).

Whistler permitted Percy Thomas (1846-1922) to etch this self-portrait as a frontispiece for A Catalogue of the Etchings and Drypoints of James Abbott MacNeil Whistler in 1874, insisting only that he should check a proof. ¹³

Whistler's biographers, the Pennells, thought that this was the first self-portrait to show Whistler's lock of white hair. ¹⁴ MacDonald comments on Whistler's appearance, including the white lock, as presented in this and other portraits:

'He self-consciously refined his distinctive appearance. One conspicuous feature was a white lock – a genetic mutation called the Waardenburg syndrome – emphasized by the arrangement of his hair. A visitor to the Whistler household, Anne Benson Procter, described him acutely as 'a very remarkable looking person – dark – eyes and hair – and one white lock, on his forehead – all the family have this – He thinks very highly of his own works.' ¹⁵

Technique

Composition

The composition of Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter appears to reference that of Rembrandt’s Self-Portrait (1659, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC), a very distinguished prototype. ¹⁶

Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter, Detroit Institute of Arts

Portrait of Dr William McNeill Whistler, Art Institute of Chicago

Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter may be considered a pair with the portrait of his brother, Portrait of Dr William McNeill Whistler y123. It is the only oil self-portrait showing Whistler holding brushes (as well as sporting the conspicuous white lock).

The Artist in his Studio (Whistler in his Studio), Art Institute of Chicago

An earlier study, The Artist in his Studio (Whistler in his Studio) y063, dating from 1865/1872, shows the artist with brushes and palette (but no white lock of hair). Whistler was right-handed, and the study is a mirror image, showing him painting with his left hand. The pose is awkward, as it is in the Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter. It is just possible that the two paintings are related, for Whistler had intended to enlarge Whistler in his Studio, and the self-portrait could have been a stage in that project, which was ultimately abandoned.

Technique

The 'grey' of the title forms the background of this portrait, yellowish-grey paint being applied carefully with vertical strokes except where the brush follows the outline of the head. The face is painted more fluidly, modelled with small brushes (5mm), the strokes following the lines and planes of the face. Way and Dennis commented in 1903 on 'the swinging energy of the line of the head.' ¹⁷

Touches of blue and red, green and brown, not completely mixed into the flesh tones, are seen in the shadows of the face. Some of the layers of colour and the highlights may have been mixed with varnish, to give a translucent glow to the face.

The painting of the jacket is in total contrast to the technique used on the face: it is roughly shaped and crudely scraped down. The arms remain unresolved. The hand was originally painted thickly, and originally it was placed lower than at present, but then scraped down and painted more thinly in cool pink shaded with grey and brown, with a soft, slightly scumbled effect.

Frame

Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter, framed

Flat Whistler frame, with basket-weave pattern painted on three flat panels, one, at left, being signed with a butterfly. The decoration is painted, not, as was more usual, incised. The butterfly interrupts the pattern and is not placed on top of the basket weave motif. ¹⁸ The portrait was probably framed for exhibition at Durand-Ruel's in Paris in 1873, at which time Whistler explained to George Aloysius Lucas (1824-1909), 'my frames I have designed as carefully as my pictures - and thus they form as important a part as any of the rest of the work - carrying on the particular harmony throughout.' ¹⁹

History

Provenance

• 1873: sold by Whistler to Alexander Constantine Ionides (1810-1890) and/or his son, Alexander Ionides (1840-1898);
• 1890: Alexander Ionides had sole ownership after the death of A. C. Ionides;
• 1895: sold by Alexander Ionides through Goupil's to George McCulloch (1848-1907) in July;
• 1907: bequeathed to his widow, Mary Agnes McCulloch (later Mrs J. Coutts Michie) (1857-1945), 12 December 1907;
• 1909: sold by Mrs Coutts Michie.
• 1911: sold by William O'Leary Fine Arts, Detroit, to Henry Glover Stevens (1879-1934), Detroit;
• 1934: bequeathed by Henry Glover Stevens (1879-1934) to Detroit Institute of Arts.

According to Whistler, he had originally sold the painting for £50. ²⁰ In July 1895 it was sold through Goupil's to the Australian collector George McCulloch for £700. D.C. Thomson explained:

'He buys your picture really because we tell him that it is a fine work of art, but he does not understand it very well yet. He asks if you would be willing to sign it at the right hand bottom corner for him with your name. As you know it already bears your mark, and this we have pointed out to him.' ²¹

Whistler objected to this on several counts:

'Be good enough to say to Mr McCulloch with my compliments that the picture is signed - as completely as one of his own cheques is signed when he has written his name upon it. -

If, not content with that, he be ever asked to print it in the "bottom right hand corner", the nature of his own request to me, may become clear to him! -

I have, as you know, my own feelings about these purchases -

That Mr. Ionides should ask 700. for the work for which he gave me fifty pounds, is monstrous shamelessness - and you can tell him so from me. What right has he or any of these others to make one penny out of my brain & my battle! -

Also I am not at all pleased at Mr McCullochs having bought the portrait - as I don't want a single canvass of mine to remain in England.' ²²

On the other hand, Whistler used this price as an excuse to raise his prices, explaining to Alexander Reid (1854-1928):

'You will have heard perhaps that the portrait of myself belonging to Mr. Ionides was sold the other day at Goupils (Mr Thomson) for £700 - He paid me £50 - for it - That is a look up for the two full lengths you still have - for my portrait, as you remember, was a half length ... 700 for the Furred Jacket is therefore no longer the price!' ²³

Whistler told another art dealer, Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932), 'Yes, £700. is a large price for a head - even though it be my own.' ²⁴ By 15 August it appears that Whistler had decided that McCulloch was Scottish (although he persisted in calling him 'McCullough'), and so he was satisfied, 'I am pleased to know that my portrait after all belongs to a Scotchman.' ²⁵

In 1909 the price received by Mrs Coutts Michie was 100 guineas, but shortly afterwards, in July 1909 the painting was offered for sale to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) through Goupil for £3000. ²⁶

Exhibitions

• 1872: Fifth Exhibition of the Society of French Artists [Winter Exhibition], Deschamps Gallery, London, 1872 (cat. no. 30) as 'Arrangement in grey and black No. 2 – a Portrait'.
• 1873: [Exposition], Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1873.
• 1880: 19th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Glasgow, 1880 (ex. cat.).
• 1883: Exposition Internationale de Peinture, Galerie George Petit, Paris, 1883 (cat. no. 2) as 'Arrangement gris'.
• 1892: Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces, Goupil Gallery, London, 1892 (cat. no. 30) as 'Grey and Black. Sketch'.
• 1895: A Connoisseur's Treasures [Alexander Ionides Collection], Goupil Gallery, London, 1895 (cat. no. 10) as 'Portrait of the Artist'.
• 1905: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 30) as 'Portrait of the Artist'.
• 1909: Exhibition of Modern Works in Painting and Sculpture forming the Collection of the late George M. McCulloch, Esq., Winter Exhibition 40th year, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1909 (cat. no. 299) as 'Portrait of the Painter'.

In early reviews of this self-portrait it was not the figure but the head that was criticised for its lack of finish. In 1872 The Times wrote: 'How imperfect Mr. Whistler is content to leave his work we may see in a portrait of himself called "Arrangement in gray and black" in the exhibition of French artists in Bond street. This is but the laying in of a head, excellent in modelling and relations of tone and colour, as far as it goes, but only the beginning and suggestion of something which the painter lacks either power or patience to carry out.' ²⁷ Despite the lack of 'finish' it was exhibited frequently.

It was one of the first paintings to be given a musical title, and when Whistler sent his paintings to Durand-Ruel in 1873, he explained to G. A. Lucas, 'my frames … form as important a part as any of the rest of the work - carrying on the particular harmony throughout ... By the names of the pictures also I point out something of what I mean in my theory of painting.' ²⁸

According to 'Megilp', a 'sensational' self-portrait by Whistler, 'extravagant to the last degree', which may have been this portrait, was hung in the Royal Glasgow Institute in Glasgow in 1880, but it was not mentioned in the catalogue or other reviews of the exhibition. ²⁹ According to Lostalot, the self-portrait was shown at the Galerie Georges Petit in 1883 (cat. no. 2) as 'Arrangement gris'. ³⁰

Detail of Six paintings, GUL MS Whistler W784

There is a rough pencil drawing by Whistler of this self-portrait in a list of Six paintings m1328 for a possible exhibition at the Royal Society of British Artists about 1886/1887. ³¹ The idea was abandoned when Whistler resigned as President of the society.

The oil was later described by Whistler as 'A fine portrait of me by myself, life sketch.' ³² The use of the word 'sketch' in a letter to a journalist could be considered as a precaution, avoiding potential criticisms of 'finish'. At first Whistler did not want this self-portrait included in his exhibition at the Goupil Gallery in 1892 but the owner issued an ultimatum, as D. C. Thomson reported to Whistler: 'Ionides poor man professes to be wishful not to be troubled again & says he will lend the portrait now or never!!' ³³ Whistler therefore agreed to it being exhibited, but perhaps reluctantly, as in the catalogue it was given the title 'Grey and Black. Sketch', perhaps to avoid criticism of its unfinished appearance.

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. 122), plate 30, as 'Arrangement in Grey: Portrait of the Painter'.
• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1328).

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• Fifth Exhibition of the Society of French Artists [Winter Exhibition], Deschamps Gallery, London, 1872 (cat. no. 30) as 'Arrangement in grey and black No. 2 – a Portrait'.
• [Exposition], Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1873.
• 19th Exhibition of Works of Modern Artists, Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts, Glasgow, 1880 (ex cat.).
• Exposition Internationale de Peinture, Galerie George Petit, Paris, 1883 (cat. no. 2) as 'Arrangement gris'.
• Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces, Goupil Gallery, London, 1892 (cat. no. 30) as 'Grey and Black. Sketch'.
• A Connoisseur's Treasures [Alexander Ionides Collection], Goupil Gallery, London, 1895 (cat. no. 10) as 'Portrait of the Artist'.
• Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 30) as 'Portrait of the Artist'.
• Exhibition of Modern Works in Painting and Sculpture forming the Collection of the late George M. McCulloch, Esq., Winter Exhibition 40th year, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1909 (cat. no. 299) as 'Portrait of the Painter'.

Newspapers 1855-1905

• 'The Dudley Gallery', The Times, London, 11 November 1872, p. 4.
• Anon., 'Winter Exhibition of the Society of French Artists, 168, New Bond Street', Morning Advertiser, London, 5 November 1872, p. 6.
• Anon., 'Fine Arts. The Society of French Artists', Illustrated London News, London, 23 November 1872, pp. 20-21, at p. 21.
• 'Megilp', Bailie, Glasgow, vol. 15, 21 January 1880, p. 11.

Journals 1855-1905

• Lostalot, Alfred de, 'Exposition internationale de peinture. Galerie Georges Petit', Gazette des beaux-arts, vol. 28, July 1883, pp. 77-80, at p. 80.
• Day, Lewis F., 'A Kensington Interior', Art Journal, May 1893, pp. 139-44, room containing this self-portrait repr. p. 143.
• Anon., 'Some Early Pictures by Mr. Whistler', The Art Journal, October 1897, pp. 289-91, at pp. 289-90, etching by W. Hole repr. f.p. 289.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Cary, Elizabeth Luther, The Works of James McNeill Whistler: A Study, with a Tentative List of Artist’s Works, New York, 1907 (cat. no. 386).
• Gallatin, Albert Eugene, The Portraits and Caricatures of James McNeill Whistler: An Iconography, London, New York and Toronto, 1913, p. 19 (cat. no. 4).
• MacDonald, Margaret F., Susan Galassi, Aileen Ribeiro, and Patricia de Montfort, Whistler, Women and Fashion, New Haven and London, 2003, pp. 4, 8, 51, repr. fig. 2.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, pp. 80, 137.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 5th (revised) edition, London and Philadelphia, 1911, p. 57.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, pp. 46, 113.
• Petri, Grischka, Arrangement in Business: The Art Markets and the Career of James McNeill Whistler, Hildesheim, 2011, pp. 124-25.
• Rossetti, William Michael (ed.), Rossetti Papers, 1862-1870, London, 1903, p. 222.
• Sickert, Bernhard, Whistler, London and New York, 1908, p. 113 (cat. no. 55).
• Spencer, Robin (ed.), Whistler: A Retrospective, New York, 1989, p. 108, pl. 44.
• Sutherland, Daniel E., Whistler: A Life for Art's Sake, New Haven and London, 2014, p. 126.
• Sutton, Denys, Nocturne: The Art of James McNeill Whistler, London, 1963, repr. frontispiece.
• Sutton, Denys, James McNeill Whistler: Paintings, Etchings, Pastels and Watercolours, London, 1966, p. 190, pl. 59.
• Thomas, Ralph, A Catalogue of the Etchings and Drypoints of James Abbott MacNeil Whistler, London, 1874, etching by P. Thomas repr. frontispiece
• Way, Thomas Robert, and G. R. Dennis, The Art of James McNeill Whistler: An Appreciation, 1st edition, London, 1903, pp. 38-40 as 'Portrait of Himself as a Young Man'.
• The World of Whistler 1834-1903, Time-Life Library of Art, 1970, pp. 120-21, repr. as 'Arrangement in Grey'.
• McMullen, Roy, Victorian Outsider: a Biography of J. A. M. Whistler, London, 1974, p. 17, repr.
• Stein, Donna, Whistler, New York, 1984, frontispiece.

Books, General

• Detroit Institute of Arts, 100 Masterworks From The Detroit Institute of Arts, New York, 1985, pp. 200-01, repr.
• Maas, Jeremy, The Victorian Art World in Photographs, London, 1984, p. 175, repr. the McCullochs and their collection in Queen's Gate.
• Reff, Theodore, Degas, the artist's mind, Cambridge, 1987, fig. 2.
• Spencer, Robin, The Aesthetic Movement, London and New York, 1972, p. 94, repr.
• Stephenson, Andrew, ‘Refashioning Modern Masculinity: Whistler, Aestheticism and National Identity’, in Corbett, David Peters and Lara Perry (eds), English Art 1860-1914. Modern Artists and Identity, pp. 133-49, Manchester, 2000, at pp. 141-42.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• Exhibition of Modern Works in Painting and Sculpture forming the Collection of the late George M. McCulloch, Esq., Winter Exhibition 40th year, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1909 (cat. no. 299).
• Second Annual Exhibition of American Artists, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1916 (cat. no. 103).
• Seventh Annual Exhibition, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1921 (cat. no. 134).
• McIntyre, Robert G., Whistler: Loan Exhibition, New York, Macbeth Gallery, 1947 (cat. no. 20, repr. on cover).
• White, Nelson C., James McNeill Whistler Seventeenth Anniversary Exhibition, Lyman Allyn Museum, New London, CT, 1949 (cat. no. 14).
• Opening Exhibition, Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL., 1951, p. 56.
• America And Impressionism, Columbus Gallery of Fine Arts and Dayton Art Institute, Ohio, 1951 (no catalogue).
• Expatriates: Whistler, Cassatt, Sargent, Munson-Williams-Proctor Arts Institute, Utica, NY, 1953 (cat. no. 4).
• Sweet, Frederick A. (ed.), Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt, Art Institute of Chicago and Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1954 (cat. no. 103).
• Young, Andrew McLaren, James McNeill Whistler: An Exhibition of Paintings and Other Works, Organized by the Arts Council of Great Britain and the English-Speaking Union of the United States, London and New York, 1960 (cat. no. 29).
• Rewald, John (preface), Loan Exhibition: Birth of Impressionism, for the benefit of Entraide Française, Inc., Wildenstein, New York, 1963 (cat. no. 67).
• Triumph of Realism, Brooklyn Museum, N. Y., Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, California Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco, 1967-1968 (cat. no. 7), dates it 1867.
• Spencer, Robin, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1969, p. 73, pl. 20, repr.
• Arts And Crafts In Detroit, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1973/1976, p. 246, repr.
• Heritage And Horizon, Albright-Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY, Detroit Institute of Arts, Toledo Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, 1976 (cat. no. 29), repr.
• [Exhibition], Detroit Institute of Arts, 1976 (cat. no. 245).
• Spink, Nesta, Whistler: The Later Years, University of Michigan Art Gallery, Ann Arbor, 1978 (checklist).
• Dorment, Richard, and Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler, Tate Gallery, London, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, and National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 1994-1995 (cat. no. 59).
• Merrill, Linda, et al., After Whistler: The Artist and His Influence on American Painting, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, 2003, pp. 3, 116-17, 178, 210 (cat. no. 8).
• Ayako Ono, ホイッスラー展. James McNeill Whistler Retrospective, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyōto, 2014, and Yokohama Museum of Art, 2014–2015 (cat. no. 11).

Journals 1906-Present

• Thomson, David Croal, 'The Late Mr. George McCulloch', The Art Journal, February 1908, pp. 43-44, at p. 44.
• Gallatin, Albert Eugene, 'Whistler - the Self Portraits in Oil', Art in America, vol. 1, July 1913, pp. 151-58, at p. 154.
• Richardson, Edgar P., 'A Self-Portrait by Whistler', Bulletin of the Detroit Institute of Arts, 14, November 1934, pp. 20-23, at pp. 20, 22-23.
• Art News, vol. 53, no. 2, April, 1954, p 21, repr.
• Kondek, Donna, 'Whistler's Other,' Wayne State, vol. 1, no. 2, 1987, p. 13.
• MacDonald, Margaret Flora, 'James McNeill Whistler: An Artist on Artists' in 'Visualizing Identities: The Male Artist in Nineteenth-Century Britain', Visual Culture in Britain, vol. 16:2, 2015, pp. 200-22, at pp. 207-08, online.

Newspapers 1906-Present

• 'Family Art Game', DIA Advertising Supplement, Detroit Free Press, 20 May 1979, p. 27, repr.
• 'Family Art Game', DIA Advertising Supplement, Detroit News/Detroit Free Press, 18 April 1982, p. 23, repr.
• 'Family Art Game', DIA Advertising Supplement, Detroit News, 14 April 1985, p. 26, repr.

Websites

• Detroit Institute of Arts website at https://www.dia.org.

Unpublished

• Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 6) 'Portrait of himself as a young man./ Portrait of the artist'.

Other

• Parkerson, Sarah Lawrence, Variations in Gold: The Stylistic Development of the Picture Frames used by James McNeill Whistlers, PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 2007.