La Robe Rouge

Detail of a pattern
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At A Glance

  • Period

    1894
  • Geography

    United States
  • Material

    Ink on paper
  • Dimension

    H x W: 18.8 x 15.3 cm (7 3/8 x 6 in)
  • Accession Number

    F1906.182
  • EDAN ID

    edanmdm:fsg_F1906.182

Object Details

  • Artist

    James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
  • Description

    Drawing of a seated woman in a dress.
  • Signatures

    Signed with the Butterfly on the drawing and with the Butterfly in pencil on the print.
  • Edition/State

    One impression.
  • Label

    Completed the same night as La Belle Dame Endormie (F1906.183), La Robe Rouge shows Whistler's wife, Beatrix, on the slipcovered sofa in the drawing room of their home at 110 rue du Bac. Whistler approved the production of a commercial edition of this print, and machine-printed impressions on ivory-laid paper were bound into the November 15, 1895, issue of the magazine Studio.
  • Provenance

    From at least 1906 to 1919
    Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from the artist by at least 1906 [1]
    From 1920
    Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]
    Notes:
    [1] See Original Whistler List, Lithographs, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Regarding the purchase details for this object, a note in the Accession File, Collections Management office, states only: "From Mr. Whistler." Also, according to Curatorial Remark 2, G.D.G., 1921, in the object record: "No record existing of the time of purchase, the print was given a registration number for 1906, the year of the printed Inventory."
    [2] 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

    James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) (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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