The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

The portrait, Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, dates from between 1896 and 1898.

Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, The Hunterian

1896: The sitter, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) appears to be dressed in deep mourning. Her elder sister, Whistler's wife, Beatrice Philip (Mrs E. W. Godwin, Mrs J. McN. Whistler) (1857-1896) had died on 10 May 1896, and mourning black could well have been worn by her sisters for at least a year. The costume, with "leg o'mutton" sleeves, suggests a date of 1896/1897. It is close in technique and colouring to Rose and Brown: The Philosopher y472, which was painted in 1896/1897.

1897: According to a label on the verso written by Harold Wright (1885-1961), almost certainly from information provided by the sitter, Miss Birnie Philip, it was painted in Paris about 1897. Whistler was certainly in Paris in May 1897, and wrote to Miss Birnie Philip when he returned alone London, 'I have been so prettily spoiled by all of you - and shall so miss your own untiring care.' ¹ This is the most likely date of the painting. They were both back in Paris in November but Whistler was then absorbed in legal affairs.

1898: In January, David Croal Thomson (1855-1930) was asked to send paintings, possibly including this portrait, from the London studio to Whistler in Paris. ² Thomson then told Arthur Jerome Eddy (1859-1920), that Whistler was working on two portraits of Miss Birnie Philip. ³

1902: According to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919), a painting of 'Miss Phillip [sic]/ Paris' was in Whistler's studio in London in 1902. ⁴

Images

Subject

Titles

Whistler's original title is not known. The only known title is:

• 'Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing' (1980, YMSM). ⁵

Description

Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, The Hunterian

A small full-length portrait in vertical format. It shows a young woman standing, wearing a black dress with a high neck and full puffed sleeves (of a modest leg o'mutton variety). She stands in slight three-quarter view to left, but looking at the viewer. Her hair is dark brown, pulled back close to her head, with a short fringe. Her right arm is not seen, her left hand holds a ring – possibly a bracelet – from which hangs a white handkerchief or scarf. The floor is dark, merging into the hem of her skirt. The background is indicated roughly: at left is a fireplace, and at right, a picture hangs on the pale green wall.

Site

Painted in the drawing room in Whistler's house at 110 rue du Bac in Paris about 1897, according to a label on the verso written by Harold Wright (1885-1961), almost certainly from information provided by the sitter.

Sitter

Rosalind Birnie Philip, photograph, GUL Whistler PH1/34

Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958). Whistler painted several portraits of Miss Birnie Philip, who became his ward and, eventually, his executrix. This painting was among the many works from his studio that she gave or bequeathed to the University of Glasgow.

Technique

Technique

Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing, The Hunterian

The panel was made from a single section of wood about 1 cm thick, and the grain runs vertically. The pale grey ground has been used as a mid-tone. The brush marks of the priming go across the board horizontally, contradicting the vertical emphasis of the design and wood-grain. ⁶

The outlines of Miss Birnie Philip's right arm, and of both her puffed sleeves, have been altered. The background was painted with comparatively bold, sketchy strokes, and is incomplete. By contrast the woman's head was painted with tiny, precise brushstrokes.

Conservation History

The panel has a slight diagonal warp but has not split and the painting is generally sound, although the varnish is slightly yellowed. ⁷

Frame

47.3 x 37.7 x 3.2 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.

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. 479), plate 347, as 'Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip Standing'.

Authored by Whistler

• None.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• None.

Journals 1855-1905

• None.

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. 208-09, repr. fig. 209.
• Spencer, Robin, Whistler, New York, 1990, pp. 134-35, repr. p. 135.

Books, General

• Goodison, J. W., Fitzwilliam Museum. Catalogue of Paintings, vol. 3, Cambridge, 1977, pp. 281-82.
• Preato, Robert R., 'Whistler's Aesthetics and Japanese Design: Their Combined Influence on American Painting, 1880-1917' in Levine, Gary (ed.), La Femme. The Influence of Whistler and Japanese masters on American Art 1880-1917, New York, 1983, p. 58, repr.
• Tedeschi, Martha, and Britt Salvesen, Songs on Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography, Chicago, 1998, pp. 126-27.
• Wortley, Laura, British Impressionism. A Garden of Bright Images, TLondon, 1988, p. 46, repr.

Catalogues 1906-Present

COLLECTION:

• Hopkinson, Martin J., James McNeill Whistler at the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, 1990, pp. 50-51.

EXHIBITION:

• Young, A. McLaren, James McNeill Whistler, Arts Council Gallery, London, and Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1960 (cat. no. 70) repr. pl. 22.
• Sweet, Frederick A., James McNeill Whistler, Art Institute of Chicago and Munson-Williams-Proctor Institute, Utica, 1968 (cat. no. 48).
• Young, A. McLaren, Glasgow University's Pictures, Colnaghi, London, 1973 (cat. no. 94).
• Sutton, Denys, and Martin Hopkinson, ホイスラー展. Whistler Exhibition in Japan, Tokyo, 1987 (cat. no. 37).
• Hamlyn, Richard, C. Newall, and J. Treuherz, Pintura Victoriana De Turner a Whistler, (Viktorianische Malerei von Turner bis Whistler), Museo del Prado, Madrid, and Bayerische Staatsgemalesammlungen, Munich, 1993 (cat. no. 110).
• Songs on Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography, Art Institute of Chicago and National Gallery of Canada, 1998–1999.
• James McNeill Whistler, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool Biennale, 2014 (no catalogue).

Journals 1906-Present

• None.

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk/#/details/ecatalogue/41275.
• Art UK website at https://artuk.org.

Unpublished

• None.

Other

• None.