Note en Rouge: L'Eventail

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Label

  Like Red and Pink, La Petite Mephisto, Note en Rouge: L'Éventail was probably painted in Whistler's London studio during the winter of 1884. Posed provocatively on a narrow bed, the model holds her left hand up to her brightly painted lips. The unusually prominent placement of Whistler's famous butterfly monogram works decoratively, extending the repeated curve established by the model's head covering, fan, and hip. But as a stand-in for the male artist, the butterfly monogram also works thematically, implying the presence of a dominating male presence looming over and directing the sexually charged scene.

• Provenance

  To 1913

  Henry Cust (1861-1917), London, to 1913 [1]

  From 1913 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Henry Cust in December 1913 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Whistler List, "Purchases since making up the Smithsonian Inventory," p. 15, 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

  Small Masterpieces: Whistler Paintings from the 1880s (April 2, 2005 to November 11, 2008)

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

  American Art - James McNeill Whistler (May 9, 1993 to June 30, 1997)

  James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art—Whistler and Modern Life (May 11, 1984 to December 16, 1984)

  Untitled Exhibition, Works of Whistler (September 22, 1947 to April 11, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, Gallery 3, 1947 (September 25, 1947 to April 12, 1955)

  American Paintings, J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to February 12, 1944)

  Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler (February 22 to April 15, 1905)

  Exposition des Oeuvres de James McNeill Whistler (May 1905)

  Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler (February 23 to March 22, 1904)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henry Cust (1861-1917) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1880s

• Name

  Cust, Henry, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Fans, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings