The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 316
Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress
Date
The date and authorship of this Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress are difficult to establish. It has been suggested that it dated from the mid-1880s. 1
Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress, Ashmolean Museum
The composition is simple and could possibly, giving it the benefit of the doubt, be called 'Whistlerian', and have been influenced by his work. It is not finished, and it is not very like Whistler's work in colour or technique. The provenance of the painting before 1945 is unknown, so it may date from after Whistler's death.
Images
Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress, Ashmolean Museum
Subject
Titles
The suggested title is:
- 'Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress' (1980, YMSM). 2
Description
Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress, Ashmolean Museum
A small unfinished full-length portrait of a man in black evening dress, against a pale grey background. His features are not defined at all. The man has his arms crossed; his feet fade away into points.
Sitter
For some completely obscure reason the actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree (1852-1917) has been suggested as the sitter, but the features are not recognisable and he is not known to have been painted by Whistler.
Technique
Technique
Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress, Ashmolean Museum
It is not very like Whistler's technique. The brushwork is somewhat spiky, and the outlines angular. There are numerous pentimenti, particularly to left of the figure, whose feet are entirely missing.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
- 1945: bought by the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
The early provenance is unknown.
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. 316), plate 202, as 'Sketch of a Man in Evening Dress'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- None.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- The Ashmolean website at http://www.ashmolean.org, as 'Portrait of a Man in Evening Dress, once thought to be of Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree'.
Unpublished
- Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 222).
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: 'Probably painted in the mid 1880s' according to YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 316).
2: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 316).