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Source Description
In this pen and ink sketch the artist depicts a young cadet at a luxurious picnic surrounded by elegant young women. The viewer is left wondering if this scene is a fantasy, a recollection of a real event, or an ironic commentary on West Point military training? This drawing was previously attributed to Whistler, who made many drawings, sometimes in the margins of his text books, while a cadet at West Point between 1851 and 1854. However, Whistler's fellow cadets also often sketched humorous scenes to pass the time. This drawing is now attributed to one of Whistler's peers, Francis Laurens Vinton (1835-1879) (who graduated from West Point in 1856). He was later a brigadier general on the side of the Union during the Civil War, and after the war a founding Professor of the School of Mining at Columbia College, New York. In the 1909 "Life of James McNeill Whistler" by E.R. and J. Pennell, Vinton is mentioned as having known Whistler in Paris during his student days (see note page 55).
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
3074
label
Cadet Days (Picnic)
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
3
Source metadata
id
3074
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Cadet Days (Picnic)
description
In this pen and ink sketch the artist depicts a young cadet at a luxurious picnic surrounded by elegant young women. The viewer is left wondering if this scene is a fantasy, a recollection of a real event, or an ironic commentary on West Point military training? This drawing was previously attributed to Whistler, who made many drawings, sometimes in the margins of his text books, while a cadet at West Point between 1851 and 1854. However, Whistler's fellow cadets also often sketched humorous scenes to pass the time. This drawing is now attributed to one of Whistler's peers, Francis Laurens Vinton (1835-1879) (who graduated from West Point in 1856). He was later a brigadier general on the side of the Union during the Civil War, and after the war a founding Professor of the School of Mining at Columbia College, New York. In the 1909 "Life of James McNeill Whistler" by E.R. and J. Pennell, Vinton is mentioned as having known Whistler in Paris during his student days (see note page 55).
provenance
Philip B. Perlman; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1960.
date
1852
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
drawings (visual works)
imageCount
3
pageCount
3
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
24.2
height
15
dimensionsRaw
H: 9 1/2 x W: 5 7/8 in. (24.2 x 15 cm)
Source extras
med
pen with brown and gray ink on white paper
creator_ids
33434
collection_ids
EAN
exhibition_ids
none
Page inventory
seq
1
type
photo
mediaId
753f527c78bef016
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
2
type
photo
mediaId
b1407729a535db28
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no
seq
3
type
photo
mediaId
02094bb552e55b64
hasOcr
no
hasDescription
no