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Graphite drawing of man in hat with brown wash

A man sits in profile facing left. He wears a round-top, wide-brimmed hat and loose collared shirt, which are shaded with graphite. He squints, and his mouth appears slightly open. He has a mustache and small beard. He appears to be sitting in a boat, as he is holding a ship’s wheel. Behind him is a tall post with a wide sail attached to it, filled in with a wash of brown watercolor. In the distant backdown to the right, we can make out faint outlines of buildings.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2005.259
People
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American (Lowell, MA 1834 - 1903 London, England)
Title
An Ajaccio Fisherman
Classification
Drawings
Work Type
drawing
Date
1901
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/5084

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Graphite and brown watercolor on cream wove paper
Dimensions
11.9 x 7.7 cm (4 11/16 x 3 1/16 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • gallery label: printed: established 1876 / THE FINE ART SOCIETY PLC / 148 NEW BOND STREET LONDON W1S 2JT Telephone 020 7629 5116 Fax 020 7491 9454 / faslondon@aol.com / [printed from computer:] November 2001 18529 / JAMES MCNEILL WHISTLER 1834-1903 / An Ajaccio Fisherman, 1901 / Pencil with brown wash on wove paper / Provenance: Miss R. Birnie Philip; P & D Colnaghi & Co. Ltd; / Dr Sidney Charles Lewsch, St John's Wood, London; Sotheby's / 21 June 2000 (as The Thames Boatman) / Literature: Margaret F. MacDonald James McNeill Whistler, / Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonné / Exhibited: The Fine Art Society, 2001, Whistler & Godwin (34)
  • inscription: old mount, graphite: J. M. Whistler. / Collection: Miss R. Birnie Philip, sister-in-law of the artist

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
From the artist to his sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip, 1903; P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. Ltd., London, May 11th, 1956; sold to Dr. Sidney Charles Lewsen, London, 1956; Sotheby's, London, June 21, 2000, lot 19, repr. [as "The Thames Boatman"]; purchased by Patricia Cornwell, Belmont, MA; her gift to the Harvard University Art Museums, 2005.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Patricia Cornwell
Accession Year
2005
Object Number
2005.259
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Publication History

  • Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonné, Yale University Press (New Haven, CT and London, England, 1995), cat. no. 1692, repr.
  • David Park Curry, Whistler and Godwin, exh. cat., The Fine Art Society (London, 2001), no. 34, repr. (color)

Exhibition History

  • Whistler and Godwin: Artist and Designer, The Fine Art Society, London, 10/15/2001 - 11/22/2001
  • 32Q: 2100 19th Century, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/24/2023 - 10/21/2024

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu