The Violet Note
artist
James McNeill Whistler
(American, 1834 - 1903)
Date1885-1886
Place MadeUnited States, North America
MediumChalk and pastel on brown paper
Dimensions26 x 18 cm (10 1/4 x 7 1/16 in.)
ClassificationsDrawings
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberP25e5
eMuseum ID719622
EmbARK ObjectID12135
TMS Source ID1276
Last Updated10/31/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryIsabella Stewart Gardner bought this small pastel from James McNeil Whistler when she sat for her portrait, The Little Note in Yellow and Gold. The fan held by the woman in the image is the same fan seen in the artist’s pastel Lapis Lazuli, which hangs directly beside it. This work’s title follows Whistler’s convention of naming his artworks using the language of music, such as “notes,” symphonies,” and “nocturnes.” His distinctive butterfly-shaped signature can be seen on the lower right, against the curtain.
BibliographyNotesArt Exhibition: Mrs. John L. Gardner, 152 Beacon St., Boston. Exh. cat. (Boston, 1899), p. 8, no. 22.
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 18.
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 103.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 419.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 201.
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 19 (6 Jan. 1963), p. 1. (excerpting Morris Carter, pp. 103-05)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 292-93, ill.
Deborah Gribbon. "Mrs. Gardner's Modern Art" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), p. 15, fig. E.
Deborah Gribbon. "Whistler's Sketch of an Unfinished Symphony." Fenway Court (1980), p. 26.
Margaret MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raissonné (London, 1995), pp. 403-04, no. 1081. (as 1885-1886)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 201, ill. (as 1885-1886)
Kathleen King, "Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee: James McNeill Whistler," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 July 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/james-mcneill-whistler-walking-stick
Catalogue. Fenway Court. (Boston, 1903), p. 18.
Morris Carter. Isabella Stewart Gardner and Fenway Court (Boston, 1925; Reprint, Boston, 1972), p. 103.
Philip Hendy. Catalogue of Exhibited Paintings and Drawings (Boston, 1931), p. 419.
Gilbert Wendel Longstreet and Morris Carter. General Catalogue (Boston, 1935), p. 201.
“Notes, Records, Comments.” Gardner Museum Calendar of Events 6, no. 19 (6 Jan. 1963), p. 1. (excerpting Morris Carter, pp. 103-05)
Philip Hendy. European and American Paintings in the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 1974), pp. 292-93, ill.
Deborah Gribbon. "Mrs. Gardner's Modern Art" in James Thomas Herbert Baily (ed.). The Connoisseur: An Illustrated Magazine for Collectors, "Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum" (London, 1978), p. 15, fig. E.
Deborah Gribbon. "Whistler's Sketch of an Unfinished Symphony." Fenway Court (1980), p. 26.
Margaret MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raissonné (London, 1995), pp. 403-04, no. 1081. (as 1885-1886)
Alan Chong et al. (eds.) Eye of the Beholder: Masterpieces from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (Boston, 2003), p. 201, ill. (as 1885-1886)
Kathleen King, "Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee: James McNeill Whistler," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 July 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/james-mcneill-whistler-walking-stick
MarksNotesSigned (on the curtain, behind the figure to the right): Whistler's butterfly signature
ProvenanceNotesPurchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from James McNeill Whistler, London for 60 guineas on 30-31 October 1886.
Object/Provenance
