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  • The Tall Flower
  • The Tall Flower

The Tall Flower

On the verso: A female nude figure, standing with bent head, holding a fan; signed with the butterfly at right. On the recto: floral design for a wall decoration, indicative of the artist's interest in Rococo interior décor.
Maker nationality and date
1834-1903
Date(s)
ca. 1883-1886
Medium
Watercolor on paper
Dimension(s)
H x W: 25.3 x 17.6 cm (9 15/16 x 6 15/16 in)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Object Number
F1904.63a-c
Production location
England, London
Theme
Figure; Studio
Signature(s)
Brown butterfly below center at left edge
Provenance
Selected Curatorial Remarks

1. Lee Glazer, 2018:
Changed title from "Study for 'The Tall Flower' (recto) and 'Design for a Wall Decoration' (verso)" to "The Tall Flower." Changed date from ca. 1886 to ca. 1883-1886. On verso: Design for a wall decoration. The painting entered the collection under the title Study for "The Tall Flower," but there is no known finished work under that title. Freer admired a watercolor like Mansfield's "Forget-me-not" called "Tall Flower" in Whistler's studio on May 7, 1904 (Freer diary, FGA).

2. Lee Glazer, 2008:
Although titled Study, there is no evidence that Whistler painted a more finished version of this figure titled The Tall Flower. The verso of this sketch is decorative floral design for a wall that seems to be divided into three sections and illustrates Whistler's interest in Rococo revival interior design.

Selected Published References
1. Curry: James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art, Pg. 177
This study entered the Freer collection with its current title, although I have not located a finished work called The Tall Flower. In general, the nude standing with her head cocked resembles a number of Whistler's late oils. Although Whistler seems to have partially obliterated it, his scheme for wall decoration on the verso firmly establishes his interest in rococo revival interiors. The design just above the dado is similar to feather patterns used in the Peacock Room, and the single blossoms recall a design for a stairway. Together, these elements suggest a date of the late 1870s or early 1880s for the decorative scheme.
Catalogue Raisonne number
M1089
MacDonald Catalogue number
Previous owner(s)
Obach & Co. (C.L. Freer source) (1884-1911)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
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