Provenance:
Sir George and Lady Lewis;
by descent in the family.
Literature:
Margaret F. MacDonald, James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1995, no. 1438-1441, p. 517.
The four Lewis Family pastel drawings, seen in the United States for the first time, are among the artist’s most personal and innovative variations on the theme of the River Thames that preoccupied him throughout his career. Seen as a group, they provide new insight into the artist’s technique in his works on paper.
George Henry Lewis was the distinguished lawyer who represented Whistler in the infamous trial against John Ruskin in 1878. After he was knighted in 1893, Lord Lewis and his family remained close to the artist; Lady Lewis corresponded with Whistler, especially after the death of his wife in 1896, and Whistler visited Lady Lewis’ cottage at Waton-on-Thames until 1898.
According to noted Whistler scholar Margaret MacDonald, the composition for Lady Lewis Seated on a Terrace was begun in Paris as early as 1895; Whistler then returned to this work and the other three between 1897 and 1898 and added pastel color for the Lewis family. The delicate surface and the vivid colors of the pastel remain in pristine condition, offering a rare example of the artist’s drawing technique. As with Whistler’s signature etching style, the exposed surface of the paper plays a key role in the overall composition of his pastel drawings. Acting as a third element or unifying backdrop, the dark lines and bright colors merge on the textured paper to create a tonal, jewel-like appearance. Color was added sparingly and the total effect offers a poetic suggestiveness form.
The Lewis family pastel drawings are unique because they retain the original color of the paper—the touches of color, dark lines of chalk, and tone of the paper allow the figure or image to seemingly leap from the sheet. It was precisely this sense of precarious balance, established by a sensuous linearity touched with color that came to characterize Whistler’s mature pastel techniques.