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Description: | CRE UNKNOWN; This three-seat, shield-shaped Sheraton/Empire style sofa has spade feet and is painted in silvery-white. It has a companion pair of armchairs (See GLAHA 53574/53575). There is evidence to suggest that Whistler adapted the sofa and chairs to make a matching set. Tackholes along the backrail suggest that is was once upholstered. There is a photograph of Whistler in his London studio taken by George Jacomb-Hood (c.1885) that shows this sofa, also descrided by Booth Pearsall. La Sylphide (GLAHA 46357) shows a chair in the background similar to these pieces. This item formed part of a group of furniture from the Whistler estate bequeathed by the artist's sister-in-law, Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip, in 1958. It is not always certain whether the pieces of furniture she bequeathed had been Whistler's or were part of the Philip family collection. Many of the items of furniture owned by Whistler were used as studio props and appear in several works by the artist. Whistler took great care over the decoration of his successive homes, favouring sparsely furnished interiors painted in plain harmonious colours.One visitor to the Whistlers' Paris home, Arthur Eddy, recorded that their reception room was "simple, dignified, harmonious...it was restful and charming, to the last degree... The floor was covered with a coarse dark-blue matting; the panelled walls were in pure white and blue, while the ceiling was in a light shade of blue...The few pieces of furniture were of an old pattern, graceful almost to fragility and covered with some light stuff which harmonised with the tone of the walls." (Arthur Eddy 1903, 'Recollections and Impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler', J.B. Lippincott Company, Philadelphia and London, pp 220-221) While he also created interior schemes for others, William Alexander at Aubrey House, and the Leylands' London home, no furniture designs by him are known. The pieces he acquired for his own use show a preference for English and French furniture of the 18th and 19th centuries.
Birnie Philip Bequest, 1958. | License: | http://www.hmag.gla.ac.uk/spirit/rights/ | Publisher: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Rights holder: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Subjects: | FURNITURE : SOFA : WHISTLER'S STUDIO : EMPIRE-STYLE : SHERATON : SETTEE : DECORATIVE ART : WHISTLER CENTENARY : | Source: | Hunterian Museum | Creator: | Hunterian Museum and Art Gallery, University of Glasgow | Identifier: | http://www.huntsearch.gla.ac.uk/cgi-bin/... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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