Collection Online as of September 28, 2022

The Violin Player

c. 1894

Part of a set. See all set records

James McNeill Whistler

(American, 1834–1903)

America, 19th century

Oil on canvas

Unframed: 79 x 53.3 cm (31 1/8 x 21 in.)

Gift of Mrs. Howard P. Eells in memory of her husband Howard Parmelee Eells 1942.1133

Location

not on view

Inscriptions

Inscription

Signed lower right center with butterfly.

Provenance

van Wisselingh (dealer, London and The Hague), 1903); (to Macbeth Galleries, New York, 20 February 1908); (to "Spiri," Amsterdam, 1 May 1908); D. Heinemann, Munich, 1911; Howard P. Eells, Cleveland (acquired from Heinemann in 1912) Bequeathed to Mrs. Howard P. Eells (Maud), 11 February 1919; Lent to Cleveland Museum of Art at various times up to 1937; Given to Cleveland Museum of Art 31 December 1942.

Citations

"Recent Changes in the Painting Galleries." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 5, no. 2/3 (1918): 22-27. Mentioned: p. 26 www.jstor.org

Exhibition history

London, New Gallery, Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the Late James McNeill Whistler (22 February - 15 April 1905), cat. no. 34, p. 88; lent by Monsieur Z; exh. sponsored by the International Society of Sculptors, Painters, and Gravers.

Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art (1918, 1932).

"American Paintings Owned in Cleveland," Cleveland Museum of Art, July 3--September 13, 1920

Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, The Work of James McNeill Whistler (1933).

Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art (1934-36).

Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, Twentieth Anniversary Exhibition (26 June - 4 October 1936), no. 376.

Cleveland, Cleveland Museum of Art, American Painting from 1860 Until Today (23 June - 4 October 1937), no. 209.

New York, William Macbeth, Inc., Loan Exhibition of Paintings, Watercolors, and Pastels by Whistler (14 April - 10 May 1947), cat. no. 24.

New London, CT, Lyman Allyn Museum, Stonington Tercentennial Celebration (1 May - 13 June 1949), cat. no. 2.

Muskegan, MI, Hackley Art Gallery, Music in Art (3 October - 20 November 1949).

Utica, NY, Munson Williams Proctor Institute, Expatriates Whistler, Cassatt, and Sargent (4 January - 25 January 1953).

Athens, OH, Ohio University, American Painting 1804-1954 (1 May - 15 June 1954) no. 14, pl. 14.

Akron, OH, The Akron Art Institute, Survey of 19th Century American Paintings (2 November - 15 December 1959).

Exhibition of American Painting from 1860 Until Today. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 23-October 4, 1937).