Gold and Orange: The Neighbors

Object Details

Label

In his book on Whistler, Denys Sutton noted the "Mallarméan allusiveness" of Gold and Orange: The Neighbors. "Whistler appears to hint at inner meanings and to provide the stuff for interpretation; thus, a strange hallucinatory atmosphere is suggested by the presence of the two old women." Recent cleaning has revealed the delicacy with which Whistler painted the delicious lace curtains and the crispness of the drying laundry.

Quotation from Denys Sutton, Whistler: Paintings, Etchings, Pastels, and Watercolours (London: Phaidon Press, 1966), 44.

Provenance

To 1913

Albert Rouiller (d. ca. 1921), Chicago, Illinois, to 1913 [1]

From 1913 to 1919

Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Albert Rouiller in 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," pg 14, 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: Streetscapes, Urban Change (November 18, 2023 to May 4, 2024)

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

Arrangement in Yellow and Gold: Paintings by James McNeill Whistler (March 14, 1986 to April 1, 1987)

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

Previous custodian or owner

Albert Roullier (died ca. 1921) (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

ca. 1894-1895

Credit Line

Gift of Charles Lang Freer

Medium

Oil on wood panel

Dimensions

H x W: 21.6 x 12.8 cm (8 1/2 x 5 1/16 in)

Type

Painting