The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Various dates have been considered for Red and Black: The Fan. It has been suggested that it dates from between 1889 and 1894. ¹

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian

Fashion plate, The Queen, 2 November 1889

1889: The costume suggests a date in the late 1880s: the tall bonnet, boa, and diagonal trim across the bust resemble fashions illustrated in The Queen in November 1889. ²

1891: Théodore Duret (1838-1927) saw portraits of Whistler's sister-in-law, probably Ethel Philip (later Ethel Whibley (1861-1920), in his London studio, and was disappointed not to see them in May 1891 at the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. He wrote: 'Je m'attendais à voir une où deux des nouvelles toiles que vous m'aviez montrées en train à Londres, un des portraits de votre belle soeur' [translated: 'I expected to see one or two of the new canvasses which you showed me in progress in London, one of the portraits of your sister-in-law.'] ³ A month later, on 14 June 1891 Whistler discussed a portrait of Ethel Philip with Robert de Montesquiou-Fezensac (1855-1921). When mentioning this to his wife, Beatrice Philip (Mrs E. W. Godwin, Mrs J. McN. Whistler) (1857-1896), the artist described it as 'Bunnie & the red Lady', 'Bunnie' being their nickname for Ethel. ⁴

1892: In January a visit by the Birnie Philip ladies to Paris was planned. ⁵ They spent a considerable time in Paris, returning to London in early May, but were back in Paris in late October. ⁶

1893: In December 1893, Ethel Philip was again in Paris acting as Whistler's amanuensis, and would have been available to pose, although it is not known if she did.

1894: By April 1894 the Whistlers were established at 110 rue du Bac, Paris.

When Joseph Pennell (1860-1926) was in Paris, around October 1894, he recorded Red and Black: The Fan as one of three full-lengths Whistler was painting at 110 rue du Bac (with Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian y378 and Rose et or: La Tulipe y418). ⁷ On 20 November, Arthur Jerome Eddy (1859-1920) referred to 'the magnificent portraits of Miss Phillip', ⁸ and on 27 November, Alfred Atmore Pope (1842-1913) asked, 'How about the Woman in Red? I want to feel that I have a mortgage on that.' ⁹

1895-1896: During the winter, the Birnie Philips were in London, tending Beatrice Whistler who was mortally ill.

1896: Edward Guthrie Kennedy remembered that 'Whistler had three full lengths of Mrs Whibley, one in black, one in grey & black & one in pink. I was to have the three when they were "complete" ', but, finding Whistler had repainted 'the full length in pink' he exclaimed 'Good Lord you've spoiled my picture.' ¹⁰ He then apologised and left the studio. Whistler responded, describing the picture as 'red' rather than 'pink':

'Now my dear OK about the red picture - Don't let that weigh on your mind any longer -

You have too loudly expressed your views for me to remain in any uncertainty about what I ought to do -

I therefore release you from all further entanglement in that unfortunate work ... were it by a miracle to turn out a masterpiece it would be immoral to let you have it.' ¹¹

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian

Rose et or: La Tulipe, The Hunterian

It is unclear whether this repainting applied to Red and Black: The Fan or Rose et or: La Tulipe y418. In September 1896 Kennedy was pressing for the completion of several portraits of Ethel, but presumably had given up on trying to obtain the 'spoiled' picture. ¹²

1897: In July Kennedy recorded paying £1000 on account for a 'Full length figure of woman to complete the agreement of last year', and in November he noted, 'Pictures (paintings) bought by E. G. Kennedy, from J. McN. Whistler, at different times & not yet received. / 4 full length portraits of a lady (Mrs. Whibley).' ¹³

In January 1897, Ethel Whibley wrote to E. G. Kennedy, 'As soon as the picture is finished you shall have it and he will write soon to you himself.' ¹⁴ Unfortunately it is not clear which portrait was nearing completion. In July Whistler told Ethel's sister Rosalind Birnie Philip that Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924), whom he calls 'Mrs Jack' yearned for 'the Red Bunnie!' but 'I told her there were already other arrangements'. ¹⁵ Again, it is not clear which portrait was under discussion.

Neither Red and Black: The Fan nor Rose et or: La Tulipe y418 were ever sold.

Images

Subject

Titles

Several possible titles have been suggested, although some of these may be references to Rose et or: La Tulipe y418:

• 'the red Lady' (1891, Whistler). ¹⁶
• 'Woman in Red' (1894, A. A. Pope). ¹⁷
• Possibly 'the red picture' (1896, Whistler). ¹⁸
• 'the red Bunnie' (1897, Whistler). ¹⁹
• 'Rouge et Noir – L'Eventail' (1903, Royal Society of Portrait Painters). ²⁰
• 'Red and Black: The Fan' (1980, YMSM). ²¹

'Red and Black: The Fan' is the generally accepted title.

Description

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian

A full-length standing figure of a woman in vertical format. She wears a red dress, and her body is turned slightly to the right, but she is looking at the viewer. She is wearing a black feather boa, and a tall black hat with a red ribbon. She wears black gloves and holds a black fan, half-opened, clasped in both hands in front of her. The background is a warm brown, the floor darker brown.

Sitter

Ethel Whibley at 110 rue du Bac, 1896/1898, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/51

Ethel Whibley and Mrs Birnie Philip, 1896/1909, photograph by W. D. Downey, GUL Whistler PH1/166

This is one of several portraits of Whistler's sister-in-law Ethel Philip, later Ethel Whibley (1861-1920). She married Charles Whibley (1859-1930) in 1895.

Whistler's nickname for Ethel was 'Bunnie'. It is possible that references to 'the red Lady' and 'the red Bunnie' refer in fact to Rose et or: La Tulipe y418, which was being painted at the same time, and which was called on one occasion 'the red picture' by Whistler. ²²

Fashion plate, The Queen, vol. 86, 2 November 1889, f.p. 604

Whistler took a close interest in women's dress, and the clothes worn by Ethel in his portraits follow the latest fashions. They were probably copies of couture outfits, inspired by magazine illustrations, and made up by her dressmaker. ²³

Technique

Composition

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian

Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian

Sketch of Miss Ethel Philip, The Hunterian

It has been suggested that Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip y386 and Sketch of Miss Ethel Philip y387 may be studies related to Red and Black: The Fan. In both cases the pose of her head is similar, but the dress is different.

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian

Rose et or: La Tulipe, The Hunterian

It is very difficult to be absolutely sure which of the portraits of Ethel Whibley was the one that E. G. Kennedy saw Whistler repainting, shortly after the death of Beatrice Whistler in 1896. Kennedy's disastrous visit to the studio is described in a series of letters and notes in his letter-books in New York Public Library. Kennedy noted:

'There was something to do to the hands of each. One afternoon I went to the studio in Fitzroy St & [saw] Mrs Whibley [posing] for the full length in pink, but Whistler, instead of finishing the hand only, had repainted the picture from top to bottom & the beautiful tone had, of course, disappeared. In my astonishment I said - ["]Good Lord you've spoiled my picture".' ²⁴

Kennedy then apologised – grovelled is probably the better word – and left the studio. Whistler then wrote to him: 'I ... release you from all further entanglement in that unfortunate work ... were it by a miracle to turn out a masterpiece it would be immoral to let you have it.' ²⁵

Technique

Red and Black: The Fan, The Hunterian, GLAHA 46386.

It was painted on a fine linen canvas and lined with similar canvas. The canvas had pale grey (lead white and ivory black) priming.

This is the most striking of Whistler's portraits of Ethel, with its dramatic combination of red and black, and very free brushwork. It is painted very thinly, with the black paint dripping down the shadows, and over the red dress around the hem. Both the background and the dress were washed in with a duller, darker, red ochre shade, applied over a thin, dark imprimatura. The red was applied last and therefore not rubbed or wiped down, though some of the sash was applied wet-on-wet. ²⁶

The painting was scraped and rubbed down and reworked over several years as Whistler sought to achieve an overall unity of colour and finish. It remained in Whistler's studio, and was considered unfinished by his ward and executrix when she lent it to the 13th Exhibition, Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London, 1903 (cat. no. 4) as 'Rouge et Noir – L'Eventail (unfinished)'.

Conservation History

It was cleaned, relined, retouched, and revarnished by Harry Woolford by December 1970. Joyce H. Townsend and Steven Hackney prepared a condition report in 1994, as did Clare Meredith in 2001. ²⁷ Minor abrasions (some due to the artist's actions) and small areas of paint loss have been retouched inconspicuously; the painting is in sound condition, despite its complex history.

Frame

213.2 x 114.7 x 7.2 cm.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to his ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1958: bequeathed by Miss R. Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

There is some confusion over the history of this painting and Rose et or: La Tulipe y418, caused by the variation in titles used by Whistler and others.

Exhibitions

• 1903: 13th Exhibition, Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London, 1903 (cat. no. 4) as 'Rouge et Noir – L'Eventail (unfinished)'.

From 1891 on, Whistler's friends and art dealers had tried to persuade him to exhibit his portraits of Ethel Philip (Mrs Whibley). In May 1891, Théodore Duret (1838-1927) was disappointed not to see 'un des portraits de votre belle soeur' at the 1st Exhibition, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. ²⁸

In November 1894 Arthur Jerome Eddy (1859-1920) also hoped Whistler would send 'the magnificent portraits of Miss Phillip' to America:

'If Miss Phillip has any objection to sending them to America, believing that this country is decidedly [aesthetically?] immature, simply call her attention to the theatrical practice of trying a new play upon a dog, the dog being some provincial town supposed to be without taste or discrimination in theatrical matters.' ²⁹

In 1898, Francis Howard (1874-1954) wanted 'the portrait of your Sister-in-law' (it is not clear which one) for the ISSPG. ³⁰

However, it was not exhibited until shortly after Whistler's death, at the 13th Exhibition, Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London, 1903 (cat. no. 4) as 'Rouge et Noir – L'Eventail (unfinished)'.

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. 388), plate 229, as 'Red and Black: The Fan'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• 13th Exhibition, Royal Society of Portrait Painters, London, 1903 (cat. no. 4) as 'Rouge et Noir – L'Eventail (unfinished)'.

Newspapers 1855-1905

• Pennell, Elisabeth R., 'Two Exhibitions: Whistler and the Portrait Painters', Daily Chronicle, London, 9 November 1903.

Journals 1855-1905

• Rinder, Frank, 'London Exhibitions', Art Journal, 1904, pp. 27-30, at p. 27.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• MacDonald, Margaret F., Susan Galassi, Aileen Ribeiro, and Patricia de Montfort, Whistler, Women and Fashion, New Haven and London, 2003, pp. 38, 185, 193, 196-203, repr. fig. 192.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 2, p. 158.
• Spalding, Frances, Whistler, Oxford and New York, 1979, p. 65, repr. pl. 53.
• Spencer, Robin (ed.), Whistler: A Retrospective, New York, 1989, p. 290, repr. pl. 95.
• Tanida, Hiroyuki, James M. Whistler, Tokyo, 1997, p. 93, repr. pl. 59.

Books, General

• Kelly, Franklin, American Paintings of the Nineteenth Century - Part 2, National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 1998, p. 252.

Catalogues 1906-Present

COLLECTION:

• Hopkinson, Martin J., James McNeill Whistler at the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, 1990, repr. cover and pp. 36-37.

EXHIBITION:

• Young, A. McLaren, James McNeill Whistler, Arts Council Gallery, London, and Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1960 (cat. no. 61).
• Sweet, Frederick A., James McNeill Whistler, Art Institute of Chicago and Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, 1968 (cat. no. 42).
• Spencer, Robin, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1969 (cat. no. 42).
• Pickvance, Ronald, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903): An Exhibition of Works from the University of Glasgow Collection, Nottingham University Art Gallery, Nottingham, 1970 (cat. no. 9).
• Young, A. McLaren, Glasgow University's Pictures, Colnaghi, London, 1973 (cat. no. 102), repr. pl. L.
• Pyne, K A., The Quest for Unity. American Art between World's Fairs, Detroit Institute of Arts, 1983, pp. 146-47 (cat. no. 70).
• Sutton, Denys, and Martin Hopkinson, ホイスラー展. Whistler Exhibition in Japan, Tokyo, 1987 (cat. no. 24).
• Wilton, Andrew, The Swagger Portrait. Grand Manner Portraiture in Britain from Van Dyck to Augustus John 1630-1930, Tate Gallery, London, 1992, pp. 58-59, repr. fig. 23.
• 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. 197).
• 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. 35).

Journals 1906-Present

• Curry, David Park, ‘Total Control: Whistler at an Exhibition’, in: Ruth Fine (ed.), James McNeill Whistler: A Reexamination, Studies in the History of Art, vol. 19, Washington, DC, 1987, pp. 67-82, at p. 70.
• MacDonald, Margaret F., and Joy Newton, 'Correspondence Duret-Whistler', Gazette des beaux-arts, November 1987, pp. 150-64, at pp. 154-55.
• Coignard, Jerome, 'Whistler. L'exposition du Musee d'Orsay', Beaux Arts, 1995, p. 43, repr.
• E.-L., I. (Enaud-Lechien, Isabelle), 'Whistler', Connaisance des Arts, Paris, 1995, pp. 33-34, repr.
• de Montfort, Patricia, 'Whistler well received', Avenue, Glasgow, vol. 19, January 1996, p. 14, repr.

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk/#/details/ecatalogue/41292.
• ArtUK website at http://artuk.org.

Unpublished

• Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 207).

Other