The Blue Girl (fragment): Purple and Blue

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Provenance

  To 1907

  Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913), London, to 1907 [1]

  From 1907 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Thomas Robert Way in 1907 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] According to Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record. See also, Original Whistler List, Purchases since Making up the Smithsonian Inventory, pg. 5, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1. According to Curatorial Remark 3, G.D. Guest, 1927, the registration number for this object was changed to correspond with the year of purchase.

  [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

  Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler's Peacock Room (July 13, 2024 to January 21, 2027)

  Chinamania (2016) (July 9, 2016 to June 4, 2017)

  Chinamania (2010) (August 7, 2010 to August 7, 2011)

  Freer & Whistler: Points of Contact (February 23, 2008 to January 3, 2016)

  Mr. Whistler's Galleries: Avant-garde in Victorian London, 1883 (November 20, 2003 to April 4, 2004)

  Whistler and the Leylands (July 3, 1998 to June 6, 1999)

  Art for Art's Sake (July 23, 1997 to January 24, 2008)

  Arrangement in Yellow and Gold: Paintings by James McNeill Whistler (March 14, 1986 to April 1, 1987)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• On View

  Freer Gallery 11: Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler's Peacock Room

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1870s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Way, Thomas Robert

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings, Still lifes

• On View

  Yes