Study for Morning Glories (recto) and Standing Nude (verso)
Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
ca. 1871-1873 -
Geography
United States -
Material
Chalk and pastel on brown paper -
Dimension
H x W (a-b two-sided drawing): 30.5 × 19 cm (12 × 7 1/2 in) -
Accession Number
F1905.150a-c -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_F1905.150a-c
Object Details
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Artist
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) -
Description
Study for the finished pastel, "Morning-glories" of a standing figure of a woman in blue, with a drawing of a standing nude on the reverse. Signature at right edge. -
Signatures
Signature: the Butterfly, at right edge. -
Provenance
To 1905Thomas Way Sr. (1827-1915), London, or Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913), London, to 1905 [1]From 1905 to 1919Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Thomas Way Sr. or Thomas Robert Way in 1905 [2]From 1920Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]Notes:[1] See Original Whistler List, Drawings, pg. 9, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Thomas Way Sr. and his son, Thomas Robert Way, were lithographers who worked closely with Whistler on several of his projects. They helped with the printing of his etchings, as well as the printing of Whistler’s promotional materials. Both Thomas Way Sr. and Thomas Robert Way owned many Whistler works. Thomas Way Sr. acquired several of these works at the time of Whistler’s bankruptcy, and he passed some of them on to his son (see The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, 1855-1903, ed. Margaret F. MacDonald, Patricia de Montfort and Nigel Thorp, On-line Edition, People, biographies of Thomas Way and Thomas Robert Way; http://www.whistler.arts.gla.ac.uk/correspondence).Charles Lang Freer acquired many Whistler pieces from the Ways. However, museum records do not always specify whether it was the younger or elder Way who was the source of a particular object. Further, archival sources indicate that the junior Way sometimes acted on behalf of his father: whilst negotiating the sale of his own Whistler works to C.L. Freer, he would concurrently negotiate the sale of some of his father’s Whistler works to Freer. In cases where it is unclear whether it was the junior or senior Way who actually owned a piece acquired by C.L. Freer, the provenance record will simply state that the object was purchased from “Thomas Way Sr. or Thomas Robert Way.”[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
The Lost Symphony: Whistler & the Perfection of Art (January 16 to May 30, 2016)Whistler's Nudes (April 21, 2002 to January 5, 2003) -
Previous custodian or owner
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) -
Origin
United States -
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer -
Type
Drawing -
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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