James McNeill Whistler The Conversation

Date c.1890-1894
Materials Pastel on paper laid down on card
Dimensions 18.0 cm x 27.8 cm
Marks Inscribed by Beatrix Whistler at bottom right: "o".
Further information GLAHA 46156.
Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonne, New Haven and London, Yale University Press, 1995 (1289).

Note Look how Whistler cleverly used the pastel to highlight the folds of the fabric of the women’s robes and to suggest the garments’ transparency, contrasting harder line with soft smudging over the women’s forms. Notice how he subtly balanced the colour of this composition. For example, the purple on both women’s headscarves reappears in the robe of the woman on the left. Similarly, the pink of the child’s headscarf reappears in the background and dress of the woman on the right. The result is harmonious and decorative. As with many of Whistler’s works, this drawing has no story. It is more about the beauty of colour and form than anything else. The poses and drapery were influenced by the classical Tanagra figures that Whistler viewed at the British Museum. Although the faces of the women in this pastel are left undefined, the models are thought to be two of the three Pettigrew sisters, who were popular models with Whistler, as well as with other artists.