Four Butterflies

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Label

  These were drawn for publication in The Gentle Art of Making Enemies. The top-left butterfly for p. 261 looks defiant and self-righteous. He was placed at the end of "Et Tu Brute," Whistler's angry response to his former friend, the poet Algernon Swinburne, who dared to criticize inconsistencies in the Ten O' Clock Lecture. The top right butterfly, with its gladiatorial stance, is similar to several illustrations but does not correspond to a published insect. The bottom-left butterfly appears on the title page of The Gentle Art. He is self-assured and entirely pleased with himself, setting the tone for the pages that will follow. Although the last figure on this sheet was abandoned, it relates to the butterfly diagonally opposite and may be an initial sketch.

• Provenance

  To 1904

  Obach & Co., London, to 1904 [1]

  From 1904 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Obach & Co. in 1904 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Whistler List, Drawings, pg. 2, 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

  James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art (May 11, 1984 to December 5, 1984)

  Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Drawings, Etchings, and Lithographs, 1959 (April 15, 1959 to November 2, 1959)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Obach & Co. (1884-1911) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Drawing

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Obach & Co.

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Animals, Insects, American Art, Butterflies

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Drawings