The anecdote implied by this scene is ambiguous. We cannot be certain whether the woman is reading a small book or holding a hand of cards. Her relationship to the smoker is not clear. However, the drawing does reveal the artist's interest in illustration during the late 1850s. A very slight underdrawing is still visible beneath the two figures, particularly in the faint outline of a head to the left of the bonneted woman and another head to the right of the hatted man. Whistler later elaborated his quick sketch, recording such details as the woman's enormous challis shawl, the plaid pattern of her skirt, and the curve of the man's pipe. Whistler created textural interest by varying the thickness of line, and he added a good deal of shading. He also vignetted the two figures in an oval composition with blank space at the corners. Whistler continued to use this popular device, borrowed from magazine illustration, in later works-for example, some of the Venetian drawings and etchings executed in 1879-1880.
Provenance:
Seymour Haden (1818-1910), London [1]
To 1898
H. Wunderlich & Co., New York to 1898 [2]
From 1898 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from H. Wunderlich & Co., through Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938), in November 1898 [3]
From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
Notes:
[1] See Original Whistler List, Haden Collection Drawings, pg. 2, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[2] See Voucher No. 20, November 1898, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
[3] See note 2.
[4] 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 Modern Life (May 11, 1984 to December 16, 1984)
Drawings by James McNeill Whistler (August 1, 1974 to April 14, 1975)
Previous custodian or owner:
Francis Seymour Haden (1818-1910)
H. Wunderlich & Co. (1874-1912) (C.L. Freer source)
