Accession Number
1954/1.426

Title
Gants de Suède

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1890

Medium & Support
transfer lithograph on laid paper

Dimensions
13 1/16 in x 8 3/8 in (33.2 cm x 21.2 cm);19 5/16 in x 14 1/4 in (49 cm x 36.2 cm)

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Label copy
Gants de Suède
1890
Transfer lithograph
Only state (Way 26; Chicago 35)
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1954/1.426
Whistler made several lithographic portraits of his sister-in-law, Ethel Philip. This one was drawn in the autumn of 1890 when she was 29 years old; it is closely related to a painting of the sitter in the same pose entitled The Felt Hat. Whistler’s titles for his portraits—here he singles out the sitter’s suede gloves—are sometimes based on formal qualities or accoutrements of dress rather than the identity of the sitter. The geniality that suffuses this print nevertheless suggests the character of Whistler’s relationships with his wife’s sisters; he affectionately referred to Ethel as “Bunnie.”
One of the rare exceptions to Whistler’s practice of limiting his editions of lithographs was an edition of 3,000 of Gants de Suède that he prepared for inclusion in the new periodical The Studio; this impression, however, comes from the discrete group of about thirty printed by hand by Thomas R. Way.

Subject matter
Whistler's 1888 marriage to Beatrix Philip Godwin provided Whistler with the congenial company of his wife's siblings and mother. Here, Ethel Philip, who also acted as Whistler's secretary, is seen standing in fashionable dress in a pose closely related to the painting "Harmony in Brown: The Felt Hat" (Hunterian Art Gallery, Univ. of Glasgow).
"Gants de Suede" was published in "The Studio" in april 1894, although it is believed that this impression was from a group printed posthumously under the direction of his executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip.

Physical Description
A woman standing facing slightly to the left looks over her shoulder to the right. She has a Victorian dress with high collar, long sleeves and skirt; she is wearing a hat with a curved brim and comes to a point at the top; in her hands she is holding a pair of long gloves. Her figure casts a shadow on the right side of the image although there is no indication of surroundings or background,

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
gloves
hats
standing