The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Miss Ethel Philip Reading dates from about 1894. ¹

Miss Ethel Philip Reading, The Hunterian

It was painted in Whistler's drawing room at 110 rue du Bac in Paris about 1894, according to a label on the verso, written by Harold Wright (1885-1961), probably on information provided by Whistler's sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958).

Images

Subject

Titles

Whistler's original title is not known. Two variations of the title are recorded:

• 'Mrs. Charles Whibley Reading' (1960, Arts Council). ²
• 'Miss Ethel Philip Reading' (1980, YMSM). ³

These titles refer to the same sitter, Ethel Philip, who was married in 1895, becoming Ethel Whibley (1861-1920). Since this portrait is thought to date from before her marriage, 'Miss Ethel Philip Reading' is the preferred title.

Description

Miss Ethel Philip Reading, The Hunterian

An interior, painted in vertical format, showing a woman in profile to left, sitting in an armchair and reading a book. In front of her, at left, is a table covered with a cloth. Behind is a fireplace surmounted by a mirror.

Site

A label on the verso reads: 'Miss Ethel Philip (later Mrs Charles Whibley) in Whistlers Drawing Room in the Rue du Bac, Paris'. The Whistlers moved into 110 rue du Bac in 1892. Getscher pointed out that the same armchair appears in the lithograph The Sisters c109. ⁴

Sitter

W. & D. Downey, Ethel Whibley reclining in a chair, 1895/1903, platinum print, GUL Whistler PH1/51, 2491

Ethel Whibley (1861-1920) .

Whistler did a number of portraits of his sister-in-law, most of which are full-length portraits such as Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian y378, or lithographs, such as The Winged Hat c034, Gants de suède c035, and The Sisters c109.

Comments

A small and intimate portrait, as the Hunterian website commented: 'The intimate domesticity of the scene is reminiscent of the work of Edouard Vuillard (1868-1940) whom Whistler is likely to have met in Paris around this date.' ⁵

Technique

Technique

Miss Ethel Philip Reading, The Hunterian

It is painted on a thin panel of mahogany-type hardwood, a single section of wood with the wood grain running vertically. The panel was primed in off-white, with brushstrokes that run up and down the length of the panel; the priming provides the base colour for the table cloth, chair, and newspaper, and provides a mid-tone highlight. ⁶

It is thinly painted, possibly with parts rubbed down by the artist. The paint is thinly applied with a soft brush, for the face, hands and hair only. It has been smudged or blotted. The brushstrokes are clearly visible, and fluid on the figure. Spiky lines were drawn with the point of the brush on the flower pot, looking like a pen drawing.

It is possible that a megilp-type paint modifier is present, since the paint is very transparent. ⁷

Conservation History

The wood panel has an auxiliary backing and framing device, also in a mahogany-type hardwood, with adhered 7 mm wide battens that have mitred corners. This was probably done after Whistler’s death, possibly for exhibition. ⁸

The panel has a slight diagonal twist, and traces of a split at upper left, but is in sound condition. There is some paint loss and damage in the upper right corner, and many scores and scratches. The varnish, however, is thick and yellowed, and covers the battens as well as the painted panel. ⁹

History

Provenance

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

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.

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. 417), plate 253, as 'Miss Ethel Philip Reading'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• None.

Journals 1855-1905

• None.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Anderson, Ronald, and Ann Koval, James McNeill Whistler: Beyond the Myth, London, 1994, p. 420.
• Lane, James W., Whistler, (American Artists Series), New York, 1942, p. 72, repr.
• Spencer, Robin (ed.), Whistler: A Retrospective, New York, 1989, p. 311, repr. pl. 100.
• Sutton, Denys, Nocturne: The Art of James McNeill Whistler, London, 1963, p. 129, repr. fig. 53.
• Sutton, Denys, James McNeill Whistler: Paintings, Etchings, Pastels and Watercolours, London, 1966, pp. 42, 195, pl. 114.

Books, General

• Goodison, J. W., Fitzwilliam Museum. Catalogue of Paintings, vol. 3, British School, Cambridge, 1977, pp. 281-82.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• Young, A. McLaren, James McNeill Whistler, Arts Council Gallery, London, and Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1960 (cat. no. 60) as 'Mrs. Charles Whibley Reading', repr. pl. Vlll.
• Primitives to Picasso, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1962 (cat. no. 29).
• Sweet, Frederick A. (ed.), James McNeill Whistler, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, and Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, NY, 1968 (cat. no. 43) as 'Mrs. Charles Whibley Reading'.
• Spencer, Robin, James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Nationalgalerie, Berlin, 1969 (cat. no. 44) as 'Mrs. Charles Whibley Reading'.
• 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. 104).
• Getscher, Robert, The Stamp of Whistler, Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH, 1977, p. 31 (cat. no. 9) (not exhibited).
• Young, A. McLaren, Glasgow University's Pictures, Colnaghi, London, 1973 (cat. no. 97) as 'Mrs. Charles Whibley Reading'.
• Gruetzner, Anna, Post-Impressionism. Cross-currents in European Painting, Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1979, pp. 216-17 (cat. no. 356).
• Sutton, Denys, and Martin Hopkinson, ホイスラー展. Whistler Exhibition in Japan, Tokyo, 1987 (cat. no. 29) as 'Miss Ethel Philip Reading'.
• 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. 189) as 'Miss Ethel Philip Reading'.

Journals 1906-Present

• Lacambre, Genevieve, 'Whistler. L'exposition du Musee d'Orsay', Beaux Arts, 1995, p. 53, repr.
• Preato, Robert R., 'Whistler's aesthetics and Japanese design: their combined influence on American painting 1880-1917', in Gary Levine, Robert R. Preato and Francine Tyler (eds.), La Femme. The Influence of Whistler and Japanese print masters on American Art, 1880-1917, Grand Central Art Galleries, New York, 1983, p. 60, repr.
• Sutton, Denys, 'A Whistler Exhibition', The Burlington Magazine, vol. 102, 1960, p. 461.

Newspapers 1906-Present

• None.

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk/#/details/ecatalogue/41231.
• Art UK website at http://artuk.org.

Unpublished

• None.

Other

• None.