Portrait of Dr. William McNeill Whistler

1871–73

James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)

Born in Massachusetts, James McNeill Whistler lived all of his adult life in Europe, working in artistic centers such as Paris, London, and Venice. Whistler painted this portrait of his brother William in London, where both of them then lived; the artist had established a studio there in 1859. Having served as a medical officer for the Confederate Army, Dr. William McNeill Whistler moved to the city after the Civil War and was a respected physician. Whistler modeled his brother’s face with some degree of detail, yet also employed broad brushstrokes of thinly applied paint to merely suggest the sitter’s dress, which blends into a background of flat color.

Status: On View, Gallery 176
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Title: Portrait of Dr. William McNeill Whistler
Place: London (Place depicted:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1871–1873
Medium: Oil on panel
Dimensions: 43.7 × 34.8 cm (17 3/16 × 13 11/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mary T. Wentworth in memory of her husband, John
Reference Number: 1977.235
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/111478/manifest.json

Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, 73 3 (May–June 1979), 10–11 (ill.).
Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, “Portrait of Dr. William McNeill Whistler,” The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler: A Catalogue Raisonné, University of Glasgow, accessed June 3, 2020, https://whistlerpaintings.gla.ac.uk/catalogue/display/?mid=y123 (ill.).
Stephanie L. Strother, “Cat. 12, The Artist in His Studio, 18665/66 and 1895,” in Whistler Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago, ed. Jay A. Clarke and Sarah Kelly Oehler (Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. 8 (ill.), http://artic.edu/digitalwhistler.
Jay A. Clarke and Sarah Kelly Oehler, eds., Whistler Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. 12 (ill.), http://artic.edu/digitalwhistler.

Art Institute of Chicago, James McNeill Whistler: Paintings, Pastels, Watercolors, Etching, Lithographs, Jan. 13–Feb. 25, 1968; Utica, New York, Munson–Williams–Proctor Institute, Mar. 17–Apr. 28, 1968, cat. 18, as Portrait of Dr. William McNeill Whistler (Portrait of My Brother).
Art Institute of Chicago, Whistler, Roussel: Linked Visions, June 20, 2015–Sept. 27, 2015, online catalog.
Art Institute of Chicago, Whistler’s Mother: An American Icon Returns to Chicago, Mar. 4–May 21, 2017, no cat.

c. 1873-February 27, 1900, probably William McNeil Whistler, London (gift from the artist); February 27, 1900-unknown, Mrs. William McNeill Whistler, his widow, London. Unknown-October 19, 1918, Burton Mansfield, New Haven, Conneticut; October 19, 1918-January 28, 1919, Vose Galleries, Boston; January 28, 1919-unknown, William T. Cresmer, Chicago. Dates unknown, Anderson Art Galleries, Chicago. Unknown-December 22, 1935, Mrs. Moses J. Wentworth, Chicago; December 22, 1935-June 20, 1958, Mr. and Mrs. John Wentworth, Chicago; June 20, 1958-July 1977, Mrs. John Wentworth, Chicago and Paris; July 1977-November 1, 1977, estate of Mrs. John Wentworth; given to the Art Institute of Chicago.

MacDonald 123

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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