The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Lillie Pamington dates from between 1899 and 1902. ¹

A note on the verso, written by Harold Wright (1885-1961), and recording information from Whistler's sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958), states it was painted after 1896. Whistler took the studio at 8 Fitzroy Street, Fitzroy Square in February 1896 and it was redecorated and ready for use by May. He owned the studio until his death. Thus this portrait was painted in the Fitzroy Street studio between May 1896 and 1903.

Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian

However, Whistler is said to have first come across the model Lilian ('Lily') Pamington (b. 1887/1888) in 1898 or 1899. Other portraits of this model, possibly started in 1898 or 1899, were completed and exhibited over several years: Brown and Gold: Lillie 'In our Alley!' y464 was exhibited in 1899, The Golden Lily y542 in 1901 and Grenat et or: Le Petit Cardinal y469 in 1902. A date between 1898 and 1902 is suggested by the similarity of Lillie Pamington to these and other portraits of this period, particularly Grenat et or: Le Petit Cardinal.

Images

Subject

Titles

Whistler's own title is not known. The sole title recorded is:

• 'Lillie Pamington' (1980, YMSM). ²

Description

Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian

A head and shoulders portrait in vertical format showing a young woman looking straight at the viewer. She has thick brownish/ochre shoulder-length hair, cut in a long fringe. She wears a dark, possibly black, ribbon or cap on the back of her head and black clothes. Her hands are clasped in front of her, at lower left. The background is a warm brownish black.

Sitter

Lilian ('Lily') Pamington (b. 1887/1888) was a popular model with Whistler. He is said to have discovered her on a cab ride through the city of London, when he was looking for such child models.

Very little is known about her, although she appears in at least eight of Whistler's portraits, including Lillie Pamington y466, The Little Red Glove y468 and Girl in Black y470.

Technique

Technique

Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian

It is on an unlined tabby linen canvas. The canvas was primed with a dark grey ground. Her rich reddish brown hair is painted freely with broad, bristly dryish brushstrokes. She is wearing black (a black high-necked dress and cap) but the colour is only partly, and very roughly, rubbed and brushed in, not reaching the bottom of the canvas. ³ The face is quite highly finished but the lower part of the canvas is clearly unfinished.

Conservation History

There are some fine drying cracks. The varnish is slightly uneven and yellowed. However, it is in good sound condition. ⁴

Frame

Lillie Pamington, The Hunterian, frame

Lillie Pamington, frame detail

Whistlerian Flat frame, dating from the 1920s. ⁵ Size: 58.0 x 39.0 x 4.1 cm.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death in 1903 and bequeathed to his ward 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. 466), plate 299, as 'Lillie Pamington'.

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. 407.

Books, General

• None.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• None.

Journals 1906-Present

• Shaw, Edith, and Margaret F. MacInnes [M. F. MacDonald], ‘Four Years with Whistler’, Apollo, vol. 87, March 1968, pp. 198-201, at pp. 199-201, note 12.

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk/#/details/ecatalogue/41281.
• Art UK website at http://artuk.org.

Unpublished

• None.

Other

• None.