Nude Standing with Legs Crossed

c. 1878

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image features a nude figure standing with one hand on the hip and the other touching the head. The person's facial features are softly rendered, suggesting closed eyes, and the hair is styled up. There is no clothing on the figure, emphasizing the natural form. The background is plain and textured in a brown shade. The composition is simple and focused, with the figure standing out against the backdrop.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    chalk on brown wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet: 28.6 × 18.2 cm (11 1/4 × 7 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8806

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    MacDonald 1995, no. 685

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Lessing Julius Rosenwald [1891-1971], Philadelphia, (Lugt 1760b); gift to National Gallery of Art, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Etchings, Lithographs, Original Drawings, and Autograph Letters by James A. McNeill Whistler, The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1931.

Bibliography

1991

  • Wadley, Nicholas. Impressionist and Post-Impressionist Drawing. London, 1991: fig. 20, p. 23.

1995

  • MacDonald, Margaret F. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1995, no. 685.

Inscriptions

lower right butterfly signature; center verso in ink: A.E. Gallatin; center verso in graphite (circled): 1397; lower left verso in graphite: A. 3170; lower center in graphite (across): 1-; lower right in graphite: (had sold for 70 gb/ bsc rsc(?); lower right in graphite (upside down): p314

Markings

right center in black chalk: Whistler signature; upper right verso in black ink: LRJ stamp; lower left verso in black ink: NGA stamp

Wikidata ID

Q64580651

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