The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 189
Portrait of Lady Redesdale
Date
Portrait of Lady Redesdale dates from between 1876 and 1878. 1
According to the Pennells, writing of the period about 1876,
'Lord Redesdale tells us of a beautiful full-length of his wife in draperies of Chinese blue silk Whistler called "fair", which was his word then for everything he liked. But it was a difficult moment, men were in possession at No. 2 Lindsey Row, and, rather than risk its falling into their hands, he slashed the canvas to pieces. The debt was small, some thirty pounds or so, and the price agreed upon for the portrait was two hundred guineas.' 2
Lord Algernon B. Redesdale (1837-1916) wrote
'On one occasion, I went to see him and found him boiling over with anger surrounded by masterpieces which he had just cut to ribbons in a storm of mad fury lest they should fall into the hands of the bailiffs, and all for a miserable debt of thirty pounds, which, for the moment, he was unable to pay ... The blow hit me cruelly, for he had just finished a beautiful portrait of my wife.' 3
Both Portrait of Lord Redesdale y188 and Portrait of Lady Redesdale y189 were destroyed at the time of Whistler's bankruptcy.
Images
Portrait of Lady Redesdale, Whereabouts unknown
Lady Redesdale, photograph, National Portrait Gallery NPG x27950
Subject
Titles
Only one title has been suggested:
- 'Portrait of Lady Redesdale' (1980, YMSM). 4
Description
Lord Algernon B. Redesdale (1837-1916) described it as a 'full-length of his wife in draperies of Chinese blue silk.' 5
Sitter
Lady Redesdale, photograph, National Portrait Gallery NPG x27950
Lady Clementine Redesdale (1854-1932) née Clementine Gertrude Helen Ogilvy, daughter of the seventh Earl of Airlie, married Algernon Bertram Mitford – Lord Algernon B. Redesdale (1837-1916) – in 1874. 6
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
Conservation History
It was 'slashed to pieces' by the artist, according to the Pennells, and 'cut to ribbons', according to Lord Redesdale. 7
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
It was commissioned for 200 gns by Lord Algernon B. Redesdale (1837-1916) but destroyed to avoid it falling into the hands of bailiffs, according to the Pennells. 8
Exhibitions
None.
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. 189) as 'Portrait of Lady Redesdale'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, p. 201.
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, pp. 125, 127-28.
Books, General
- Redesdale, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford, Memories, London, 1915, vol. 2, p. 646.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- None.
Unpublished
- Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 130).
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: Dated 'about 1876' in YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 189).
2: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 201.
3: Redesdale, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Memories, London, 1915, vol. 2, p. 646.
4: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 189).
5: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 201.
6: See the National Portrait Gallery website at http://www.npg.org.uk.
7: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 201; Redesdale, Algernon Bertram Freeman-Mitford Memories, London, 1915, vol. 2, p. 646.
8: Pennell 1908 [more], vol. 1, p. 201.