Reclining Draped Figure - James McNeill Whistler

Gift of Walter S. Brewster

"Reclining Draped Figure" by James McNeill Whistler (1893) Lithographic crayon, with traces of scraping and stumping, on fine-grained transfer paper laid down on cream wove paper.

Commentary

"Reclining Draped Figure" by James McNeill Whistler (1893) invites a close look at how form and feeling work together. Themes to notice include drawings (visual works). This piece is held in the source collection's Prints and Dr awings 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 drawings (visual works), which gives a clue to how the museum frames the object. Its medium (Lithographic crayon, with traces of scraping and stumping, on fine-grained transfer paper laid down on cream wove paper) affects texture, durability, and how detail reads at different distances. Its listed dimensions (Primary support: 16.1 × 24.5 cm (6 3/8 × 9 11/16 in.); Secondary support: 23.9 × 32.3 cm (9 7/16 × 12 3/4 in.)) suggest how intimate or monumental it may feel in person. Subject cues from the catalog include drawings (visual works). Compare this reading with the museum record at the source collection: https://www.artic.edu/artworks/14318

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