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Source Description
In 1872 Whistler was commissioned to contribute two designs to complete the decorative scheme of 35 monumental portrait mosaics installed in the south court of the South Kensington Museum in London (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). A celebration of the arts, the mosaics represented male artists throughout history; Whistler’s two designs attempted to correct the gender imbalance. His subjects were a woman at a spindle and a Japanese woman painting a fan. Here, a brush is poised in the figure’s right hand—notice the sharp diagonal line above the orange butterfly—as she pauses to contemplate the fan she is painting. The commission went unfulfilled, and all that survives is this pastel study.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
113948
label
Japanese Woman Painting a Fan (recto)
core
obj
dtoType
drawing
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
113948
contentType
drawing
title
Japanese Woman Painting a Fan (recto)
description
In 1872 Whistler was commissioned to contribute two designs to complete the decorative scheme of 35 monumental portrait mosaics installed in the south court of the South Kensington Museum in London (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). A celebration of the arts, the mosaics represented male artists throughout history; Whistler’s two designs attempted to correct the gender imbalance. His subjects were a woman at a spindle and a Japanese woman painting a fan. Here, a brush is poised in the figure’s right hand—notice the sharp diagonal line above the orange butterfly—as she pauses to contemplate the fan she is painting. The commission went unfulfilled, and all that survives is this pastel study.
date
c. 1872
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80006527
creators
3330
genreSpecific
Drawing
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Sheet: 27.9 x 17.6 cm (11 x 6 15/16 in.); Secondary Support: 38.5 x 28.9 cm (15 3/16 x 11 3/8 in.)
cul
America
accession
1933.222.a
Source extras
tec
black chalk and pastel
tombstone
Japanese Woman Painting a Fan (recto), c. 1872. James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903). Black chalk and pastel; sheet: 27.9 x 17.6 cm (11 x 6 15/16 in.); secondary support: 38.5 x 28.9 cm (15 3/16 x 11 3/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection, 1933.222.a
supportMaterials
description
brown paper
collection
DR - American 19th Century
inscriptions
inscription
signed, center, in black chalk and pastel: [artist's monogram]
citations
citation
Contractor, Tara. “Gold Thread.” <em>Apollo </em>203, n. 752 (May 2026): 76-83.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 82
creditline
Gift of Mrs. Henry A. Everett for the Dorothy Burnham Everett Memorial Collection
updatedAt
2026-05-29 05:59:25.553000
sourceId
113948
dept
Drawings
coll
DR - American 19th Century
med
black chalk and pastel
creatorTags
male
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
054dbe84957f0a4d