La Belle Dame Endormie

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

  In this intimate drawing Whistler shows his wife, Beatrix, asleep on a slipcovered armchair in the wood-paneled drawing room of their home at 110 rue du Bac. La Belle Dame Endormie was completed on the same evening as La Robe Rouge (F1906.182). Whistler sent both drawings to his printer, Thomas Way, on September 23, 1894, noting that they "were done last night." Beatrix was already ill, although her cancer may not have been diagnosed yet.

• 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

  Sweet Silent Thought: Whistler's Interiors (August 20, 2011 to August 26, 2012)

  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

  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

  Whistler, James McNeill, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Sleeping, Chairs, American Art, Portraits, Woman

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Prints