Walking Stick: Whistler's Wand
maker
Unknown
Date19th century
MediumBamboo
Dimensions116 cm (45 11/16 in.)
ClassificationsTools and Equipment
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberU27w183
eMuseum ID727129
EmbARK ObjectID24693
TMS Source ID9027
Last Updated10/5/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryJames McNeill Whistler cut a distinctive figure in the art world, wearing jaunty hats and swinging a long, thin stick in his fingers as he walked. He presented this staff to Isabella Stewart Gardner in 1886, entrusting her “with the wand...with the best and warmest wishes.” After his death in 1903, she displayed it on the third floor of her museum alongside the portrait of the artist by Harper Pennington.
BibliographyNotesKathleen 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
ProvenanceNotesGift from the artist James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) to Isabella Stewart Gardner in 1886.
