Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso) - James McNeill Whistler

Gift of Walter S. Brewster

"Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)" by James McNeill Whistler (1898/99) Pen and black ink over graphite (recto), and pen and black ink over graphite, with corrections by the artist in white opaque paint (verso), on cream wove card.

Commentary

"Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)" by James McNeill Whistler (1898/99) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include pen and ink drawings. This piece is held in the sourc e collection's Prints and Drawings collection. James McNeill Whistler is the artist behind this work. A useful anchor for reading the piece: James McNeill Whistler American, 1834-1903. The work is cataloged within a United States cultural context. How to look at this work: It is cataloged as pen and ink drawings, which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Pen and black ink over graphite (recto), and pen and black ink over graphite, with corrections by the artist in white opaque paint (verso), on cream wove card) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (15.9 × 12.3 cm (6 5/16 × 4 7/8 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include pen and ink drawings. Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/113074

Sources: Art Institute of Chicago; Art Institute of Chicago / Public Records; Art Institute of Chicago Collection Data