The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

YMSM 386
Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip

Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1889/1896
Collection: The Hunterian, University of Glasgow
Accession Number: GLAHA 46362
Medium: oil
Support: canvas
Size: 62.2 x 47.0 cm (24 1/2 x 18 1/2")
Signature: none
Inscription: none

Date

Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip is difficult to date. Various dates have been suggested, between the late 1880s and late 1890s. 1

1886/1889: The Hunterian website dated it ca 1886-1889, but it may, judging from the costume, with its suggestion of a bustle, be later. 2

1888: Ethel Philip – Ethel Whibley (1861-1920) – probably started posing for Whistler shortly after Whistler's marriage to her sister in 1888.

1889: Andrew McLaren Young (1913-1975) thought this was a sketch of Ethel Philip, relating to Red and Black: The Fan y388. 3 The position of the model's head and the style of the hat are similar but the dress is very different in colour and lacks the striking colour of Red and Black: The Fan.

1891/1896: Judging by the dress she is wearing, this Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip is compatible with a date of 1889, but could date from slightly later. Red and Black: The Fan has now been dated 1889/1896.

1891/1894: Ethel Philip continued to pose for Whistler during the years between 1891 in London and 1894 in Paris, before her marriage in 1895. The portrait under discussion is unlikely to date from 1894-1895 when extreme "leg o'mutton" sleeves were in fashion. It could however date from later in the 1890s.

Ethel Whibley, 1896, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/50
Ethel Whibley, 1896, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/50

1896: After her marriage, Ethel Whibley posed again in 1896 and probably 1897, and occasionally in later years until at least 1901. It is not, however, known exactly which portraits were being worked on during those years. The sombre black of the dress might reflect a period of mourning, for instance, after the death of Beatrice Philip (Mrs E. W. Godwin, Mrs J. McN. Whistler) (1857-1896). The model's slightly matronly appearance would be consistent with this later date.

Images

Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian
Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian
Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian

Ethel Whibley, 1896, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/50
Ethel Whibley, 1896, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/50

Subject

Titles

Several possible titles have been suggested:

In this case, an accurate title should really depend on the date of the picture. If this was painted before 1895, when Ethel Philip married Charles Whibley, then 'Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip', as used in the 1980 catalogue raisonné, is correct. If it was painted later, between 1896 and 1903, then 'Sketch for a Portrait of Mrs. Charles Whibley' would be correct. However, to avoid confusion, 'Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip' remains the generally accepted title.

Description

Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian
Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian

A small full-length portrait of a woman in vertical format. The woman stands in profile to right, her head turned to look at the viewer. She wears a black dress, the skirt gathered into a modest bustle at the back. Either the front of the dress is trimmed with black or she is wearing a long scarf in a light material, lace or chiffon. She wears a tall black bonnet trimmed with black chiffon and dark red flowers, and has white gloves on her hands. She appears to be holding something, possibly a parasol, but if so the lower part is missing. The background is greenish grey, the floor brown.

Sitter

Ethel Whibley, 1896, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/50
Ethel Whibley, 1896, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/50

This is a study of Whistler's sister-in-law Ethel Philip, later Ethel Whibley (1861-1920) . In 1895 she married the journalist and critic, Charles Whibley.

Ethel Philip probably started posing for Whistler shortly after his marriage to her sister Beatrice in 1888: one painting, Red and Black: The Fan y388, may have been started in 1889. Two lithographs – The Winged Hat c034 and Gants de suède c035 – date from 1890. She was certainly posing in 1891 in London and in 1894 in Paris (she posed with Whistler's wife in The Sisters c109), before her marriage in 1895.

Ethel, by then Ethel Whibley, was posing again in 1896 and probably 1897. She also posed at some time in later years, and in 1900 Whistler exhibited a recently completed portrait of her, Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian y378.

Technique

Composition

Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian
Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian
Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian

It has been suggested that this could be a study for Red and Black: The Fan y388. 7 There are similarities in the pose and tall hat, although the dress is different in shape and colour in the larger full-length portrait.

Technique

Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian
Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian

It is on a fine weave slubby canvas, possibly hand-woven, which may have been acquired in France. It was thinly primed in mid-grey, which forms part of the background. It was probably Whistler’s own mixture, and consists of lead white with bone black, yellow ochre, vermilion, red ochre and probably cobalt blue. Though the paint is thin, it is thick enough to conceal any underdrawing. Judging by its surface appearance, the paint may include Whistler’s ‘sauce’; it was not thinned much. 8

It shows extensive signs of reworking. The model's bustle originally extended further left, and her head and hat were higher. Her mouth was partly rubbed out and can still be seen in two positions. The rest of her face was painted in detail with fluid strokes of a small brush. The dress is a dense black but the outlines are soft and blurred. Likewise the background is very thinly painted with indistinct, soft and rubbed down brushstrokes.

Conservation History

It was wax-lined by Harry Woolford in 1971 onto a medium-weight, closely-woven tabby-weave canvas. There was some paint loss, since restored, at the lower right corner. It has a slightly uneven finish and some small scratches or spots of paint loss, with minor retouching in these areas, but it is in sound condition. 9

Frame

59.2 x 39.4 x 3.6 cm.

History

Provenance

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

Authored by Whistler

Catalogues 1855-1905

Journals 1855-1905

Monographs

Books on Whistler

Books, General

Catalogues 1906-Present

Journals 1906-Present

Websites

Unpublished

Other

Notes:

1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 386).

2: The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.

3: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 386).

4: Spencer, Robin, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1969 (cat. no. 41).

5: Glasgow University's Pictures, London, Colnaghi, 1973 (cat. no. 100).

6: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 386).

7: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 386).

8: Dr Joyce H. Townsend, Tate Britain, Report of Examination, June 2017. She add that the paint in the single cross-section is very thin, and its medium, whose fluorescence suggests the inclusion of natural resin, has soaked into the priming. The varnish is not likely to be original.

9: Condition report by Clare Meredith, 14 May 2001, Hunterian files.