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Description: | The University of Glasgow houses one of the world's two great collections of the work of James McNeill Whistler (1834 - 1903), the American-born painter, printmaker, designer, wit, and champion of art. The collection is centred on the artist's Estate.
Whistler bequeathed his Estate to his ward, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958), a younger sister of his late wife, Beatrix. Miss Philip subsequently gifted and bequeathed the art collection, and Whistler's personal collections of decorative art and memorabilia, to the University of Glasgow in 1935 and 1958 respectively.
Glasgow was chosen for several reasons, including Whistler's Scottish ancestry; the support in his lifetime of the painters the "Glasgow Boys" which led to the purchase by the city in 1891 of Whistler's portrait of Thomas Carlyle; and, in 1903, shortly before his death, the decision by the University of Glasgow to award Whistler the honorary degree of Doctor of Law.
In addition, in 1954 Miss Philip presented the University with an important archive of over 4,000 letters as well as catalogues, press cuttings, photographs, books and memorabilia. This archive is housed in the Special Collections Department of the University Library.
Important additions have since been made to both holdings.
The Whistler Collection includes 80 oil paintings, several hundred drawings, watercolours and pastels, and over 1,500 impressions of Whistler's etchings and lithographs. The Collection reflects its origins in the artist's Estate by including a predominance of late and sometimes unfinished paintings. Examples of most of his prints are represented, many in multiple states. Among the drawings, the group of some 80 pastels is an outstanding component of the works on paper collection. Other highlights include Whistler's decorated screen, Blue and Silver: Old Battersea Bridge', Harmony in Yellow and Gold: The Butterfly Cabinet', designed by E.W. Godwin and decorated by Whistler; and the Hunterian's largest drawing, the Cartoon for the Fighting Peacocks mural of Whistler's celebrated Peacock Room.
The Collection comprises not just art. A major holding of artist's materials, including etching plates and needles, lithographic stones and stumps, watercolour and oil palettes and paints, easels, and sketchbooks, provides an important insight into Whistler's working process. In addition, the Collection includes a wide range of his personal collections: furniture, silverware, oriental ceramics, as well as personalia including medals, spectacles, and calling cards. | Subjects: | painting watercolour decorative art Whistler | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Address: | University of Glasgow,
University Avenue,
G12 8QQ | Creator: | Pamela Robertson | Contributor: | Rosalind Birnie Philip | Identifier: | C-0066 |
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