The Staircase: Note in Red
date: label: Date
content: 1880
name: label: Artist
content: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
notes: label: Label
content: The tree peeking over the courtyard wall is in blossom, but its leaves are still in bud, suggesting that this drawing was completed in the spring of 1880. In contrast to The Beggars-Winter, (see F1902.175) this pastel is awash in color. The dominant feature is the rich, orange-red of the staircase, but the drawing is enlivened with delicate touches of white; yellow; light, dark, and orangey pink; dark orange; pale and dark gray; and pale blue, all of which are united by the brown paper.
label: Provenance
content: To 1902
label: Provenance
content: Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934), London, to 1902 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1902 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Henry Studdy Theobald, London, in August 1902 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] Undated folder note sheet, Object file. See also Original Whistler List, Purchases from Theobald, pg. 9, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives; and Voucher No. 1, August 1902, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler in Venice: The Pastels (January 19 to June 15, 2003)
label: Exhibition History
content: James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art—Whistler and the Landscape (May 11, 1984 to February 5, 1985)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler Pastels and Water Colors (July 1 to July 31, 1974)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 10 and 11 (February 25, 1956 to November 3, 1959)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Paintings and Drawings (December 14, 1955 to February 25, 1956)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Works of Whistler (September 22, 1947 to April 11, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Watercolors, Oil Paintings, and Pastels (January 20, 1944 to October 13, 1947)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler Pastels and Drawings, Re-arranged and some additions (January 7, 1924 to January 20, 1944)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings, Pastels, and Water Colors, and Drawings. J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to January 7, 1924)
label: Exhibition History
content: Exposition des Oeuvres de James McNeill Whistler (May 1905)
label: Exhibition History
content: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler (February 23 to March 22, 1904)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: United States
topic: label: Topic
content: spring
label: Topic
content: United States
label: Topic
content: American Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1902.174a-b
objectType: label: Type
content: Drawing
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Crayon and pastel on brown paper
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 28.8 x 20.3 cm (11 5/16 x 8 in)