Morning Glories

Maker(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
1871-1873
Medium
Drawing; chalk and pastel on brown paper
Dimensions
H x W: 26.1 x 16.2 cm (10 1/4 x 6 3/8 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1903.147a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Drawing
Type

Drawing

Keywords
balcony, flower, river, United States, water, woman
Provenance

To 1903
Sir William Burrell (1861-1958), Glasgow, Scotland, to 1903 [1]

From 1903 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Sir William Burrell in 1903 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 25, 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.

Previous Owner(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
Sir William Burrell (C.L. Freer source) 1861-1958

Label

While working to improve his facility with drawing and composition, Whistler made studies of classically draped models in Japanese attitudes, posing in front of a bamboo railing he designed especially for this purpose. The chalk drawings are studies in line, as the Six Projects (see F1902.138, F1903.175--F1903.179) are studies in color, for elaborate figure paintings Whistler was never able to complete, though he would use some of the themes in pastel drawings such as Morning Glories and Annabel Lee (F1905.129), which was completed years later. Whistler signed the drawings around 1874, placing his butterfly emblem beside each figure as though it were a Japanese artist’s seal.

Published References
  • Margaret F. MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolours : A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, 1995. .
  • David Park Curry. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1984. p. 242, pl. 214.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

This image is in the public domain (free of copyright restrictions). You can copy, modify, and distribute this work without contacting the Smithsonian. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery welcome information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

citation | Save this image How to download an image | Terms of Use