Object Details
- Label
- Whistler’s series of women and children are as complicated and self-referential as Degas’s pastel drawings of ballet dancers, with which they are contemporary. In each case, the works were done in the studio, where the artist could control and manipulate his imagery at will. Like Degas, Whistler was completely devoted to the reuse of standard poses explored in seemingly endless variations. Mother and Child-The Pearl is a case in point. An infrared photo reveals an earlier black chalk drawing of a standing figure with a pot of flowers, probably related to the Six Projects, a series of oil sketches from ca. 1868. The artist’s first attempt at a new drawing was obliterated by the drawing as we see it now.
- Provenance
- To 1904
- William Marchant & Co., London, to 1904 [1]
- From 1904 to 1919
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from William Marchant & Co. in 1904 [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.
- Collection
- Freer Gallery of Art Collection
- Exhibition History
- James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art—Whistler and the Figure (May 11, 1984 to December 16, 1984)
- James McNeill Whistler Pastels, Etchings, Paintings, Watercolors (November 11, 1976 to June 24, 1977)
- 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)
- Whistler Pastels and Drawings, Re-arranged and some additions (January 7, 1924 to January 20, 1944)
- American Paintings, Pastels, and Water Colors, and Drawings. J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to January 7, 1924)
- Previous custodian or owner
- William Marchant & Co. (flourished 1907-1925) (C.L. Freer source)
- Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
- Data Source
- Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
- Date
- 1890/1892
- Credit Line
- Gift of Charles Lang Freer
- Medium
- Chalk and pastel on grey paper
- Dimensions
- H x W: 18.4 x 27.7 cm (7 1/4 x 10 7/8 in)
- Type
- Drawing
