Rose and Silver–Portrait of Mrs. Whibley

A heavily painted portrait of the artist’s sister-in-law, Ethel Whibley, against a dark background, seated in a chair and turned to show off a fashionable pink costume and hat.

Maker(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
1895-1896
Medium
Watercolor on brown paper
Dimensions
H x W: 28.2 × 18.8 cm (11 1/8 × 7 3/8 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1901.108a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Watercolor

Keywords
portrait, United States, woman
Provenance

To 1901
John James Cowan (1846-1936), Edinburgh, Scotland, to 1901 [1]

From 1901 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from John James Cowan in 1901 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 18, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

John James Cowan (C.L. Freer source) 1846-1936
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

A heavily painted portrait of the artist's sister-in-law, Ethel Whibley, against a dark background, seated in a chair and turned to show off a fashionable pink costume and hat.

Published References
  • Kerry Roeder. Whistler in Watercolor. Washington. .
  • Denys Sutton. James McNeill Whistler: Paintings, Etchings, Pastels & Watercolours. London, 1966. pl. 94.
  • Burns A. Stubbs, Freer Gallery of Art. Paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and copper plates by and attributed to American and European artists, together with a list of original Whistleriana in the Freer Gallery of Art. Occasional Papers Series, vol. 1 Washington. p. 18.
  • With Kindest Regards: The Correspondence of Charles Lang Freer and James McNeill Whistler 1890-1903. Washington. p. 63, pl. 15.
  • Susan Hobbs. A Connoisseur's Vision of America: The American Collection of Charles Lang Freer., August 1977. p. 96.
  • John Walker. James McNeill Whistler. Library of American Art (Harry N. Abrams, Inc.) New York. pp. 110-112, pl. 111.
  • Elisabeth Luther Cary. The Works of James McNeill Whistler: A Study., 1st ed. New York, 1907. No. 100, p. 173.
  • Susan Grace Galassi, Margaret F. MacDonald, Aileen Ribeiro. Whistler, Women, and Fashion. Exh. cat. New Haven and New York, April 22 - July 13, 2003. p. 200, fig. 197.
  • David Park Curry. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1984. p. 204, pl. 136.
  • Margaret F. MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolours : A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, 1995. No. 1415, p. 511.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
Whistler in Watercolor
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