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Pink Note–The Novelette

National Museum of Asian Art

Object Details

Artist
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Description
A girl seated on a bed, reading; signed with the butterfly at right edge on bedcover.
Signatures
Pink butterfly near center at right edge
Paper/Support
On cold-pressed, wove paper. Small graphite sight lines visible near both bottom corners.
Provenance
To 1902
Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934), London, to 1902 [1]
From 1902 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Henry Studdy Theobald in 1902 [2]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
Notes:
[1] See Original Whistler List, Purchases from Thoebald, pg. 4, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 1, August 1902,
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
Whistler in Watercolor (May 18 to November 3, 2019)
Sweet Silent Thought: Whistler's Interiors (August 20, 2011 to August 26, 2012)
Mr. Whistler's Galleries: Avant-garde in Victorian London, 1883 (November 20, 2003 to April 4, 2004)
James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art—Whistler and the Figure (May 11, 1984 to December 16, 1984)
Whistler Pastels and Water Colors (July 1 to July 31, 1974)
Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 10 and 11 (February 25, 1956 to November 3, 1959)
Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Paintings and Drawings (December 14, 1955 to February 25, 1956)
Untitled Exhibition, Works of Whistler (September 22, 1947 to April 11, 1955)
Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Watercolors, Oil Paintings, and Pastels (January 20, 1944 to October 13, 1947)
Whistler Pastels and Drawings, Re-arranged and some additions (January 7, 1924 to January 20, 1944)
Whistler Water Colors (January 7, 1924 to April 4, 1930)
American Paintings, Pastels, and Water Colors, and Drawings. J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to January 7, 1924)
Exposition Internationale de Peinture et de Sculpture (1887)
Annual Exhibition of Sketches, Pictures, and Photography (1884)
"Notes"—"Harmonies"—"Nocturnes" (May 1884)
Previous custodian or owner
Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
1883-1884
Accession Number
F1902.158a-c
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Type
Painting
Medium
Watercolor on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 25.3 x 15.5 cm (9 15/16 x 6 1/8 in)
Origin
United States
Related Online Resources
Google Cultural Institute
Whistler in Watercolor
See more items in
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
Topic
crop marks
bone black
cerulean blue
Prussian blue
raw sienna
iron oxide red
vermilion
zinc white
cadmium yellow
Mars pigment
yellow ocher
child
reading
United States
American Art
Charles Lang Freer collection
Record ID
fsg_F1902.158a-c
Metadata Usage (text)
CC0
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ye37ca2d5f7-1332-42ff-b175-0619d90c8548
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 Open Access page.
International media Interoperability Framework
IIIF provides researchers rich metadata and media viewing options for comparison of works across cultural heritage collections. Visit the IIIF page to learn more.
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