Stéphane Mallarmé

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Signatures

  Signed with the Butterfly on the drawing. Print entitled and signed in pencil, the Butterfly.

• Edition/State

  1, 1

• Label

  One of the most influential poets in late-nineteenth-century Europe, Mallarmé translated Whistler's "Ten O'Clock" lecture into French in 1891, after which the two men became close friends. This drawing was probably made in Whistler's rooms at the Hotel du Bon Lafontaine in Paris, where Whistler and Beatrix stayed while workmen finished preparing their house at 110 rue du Bac. With Whistler's approval, Mallarmé used the lithograph as the frontispiece to the 1893 edition of his poetry and prose.

• Provenance

  To 1893

  Max Williams Co., New York to 1893 [1]

  From 1893 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Max Williams Co. in 1893 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Whistler List, Lithographs, 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.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Whistler in Paris: Lithographs from the Belle Epoque, 1891-1896 (February 21 to August 15, 2004)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Max Williams Co. (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Print

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s

• Name

  Williams, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art, Men, Portraits, Poets

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Prints