James McNeill Whistler A draped model reclining with a fan

Date c.1900
Materials Pen and black ink on wove paper
Dimensions 9.7 cm x 7.6 cm
Marks Signed with a butterfly at the centre right; inscribed by Whistler on the verso: "Perhaps you would . . . / little anecdotes . . . / with which you are . . . / town-Any aft[ernoon] / . . . and ready to listen . . . / two, to three o'clock" and "James-27. Stanho[pe]"; watermark: "T.B. & Co"
Further information GLAHA 46286.
Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonne, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1995 (1609).

Note This picture is small and simply drawn with minimum lines to suggest sofa, woman, cushion and fan. Notice how Whistler changed his mind about the position of the model’s right arm, which used to lie by her side. These changes are called pentimenti. Look how Whistler used different strengths of line to suggest the dark shadow under the sofa and the light, filmy fabric of the woman’s drapery. Whistler signed this drawing with his butterfly signature showing that he considered it to be finished.