WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›James McNeill Whistler

James McNeill Whistler

James McNeill Whistler

?–1903

WA-00018432

Painting

Representation

None documented

13

Institutional Exhibitions

2239

Works in Collection

2253

Assets Indexed

7

Authority-backed Facts

0

Publications Referenced

80%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (2)

WikidataQ203643

Selected Institutional Exhibitions

View all exhibitions →

No image

Impresario: Ambroise Vollard

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1977

No image

The Natural Paradise: Painting in America 1800�1950

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1976

No image

Masters of British Painting, 1800�1950

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1956

No image

American Battle Painting 1776�1918

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1944

No image

Painting, Sculpture, Prints

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1944

No image

Romantic Painting in America

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1943–1944

No image

Twentieth Century Portraits

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1942–1943

No image

Twenty Lithographs: Graphic Art Processes

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1941

No image

Modern Masters from European and American Collections

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1940

No image

Painting, Sculpture, Prints

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1939

No image

Three Centuries of American Art

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1938

No image

Whistler: Portrait of the Artist's Mother

Museum of Modern Art, New York

1934

Field Verification (7 fields)

0 cross-verified · 7 single-source

BiographyWikidata· 70%
Birth yearWikidata· 70%
Death yearWikidata· 70%
LocationWikidata· 70%
NationalityWikidata· 70%
Primary mediumWikidata· 70%
Profile imageWikidata· 70%

Source Registry (2)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/6336
Tier 1 · Institutional92%
Wikidata
Tier 1 · Institutional40%

About

Why this artist matters now

James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake".

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 27d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

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Medium

Painting

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum of Modern ArtNew York National Gallery of Art

Canonical record

Artworks (2239)

Sheet of Stamps of Whistler's Mother

Sheet of Stamps of Whistler's Mother

1934 · Uncut sheet of stamps in purple ink

Each stamp: 2.2 × 3.6 cm (7/8 × 1 7/16 in.); Sheet: 26.1 × 23 cm (10 5/16 × 9 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

The 26 Etchings (Second Venice set)

The 26 Etchings (Second Venice set)

1924 · Bound volume of etchings and drypoints printed from original cancelled copper plates

Closed: 38.7 × 28.5 × 2 cm (15 1/4 × 11 1/4 × 13/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

1903 · Transfer lithograph; only state (Chicago); printed on black ink on fine cream laid Japan

Image: 7 1/2 × 5 1/2 in. (19 × 14 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait Study: Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip

1903 · Transfer lithograph; only state (Chicago); printed in black ink on cream laid paper

Image: 5 3/8 × 3 7/8 in. (13.7 × 9.8 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portrait of a Young Woman Wearing a Hat (Miss Seaton) (Dorothy Seaton in a Hat)

1902 · Transfer lithograph with stumping; only state (Chicago); printed in black ink on ivory wove paper

Image: 7 1/2 × 5 5/16 in. (19 × 13.5 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Flaming Forge

1901 · etching in dark brown on laid paper

plate: 19.05 × 15.08 cm (7 1/2 × 5 15/16 in.) sheet: 22.07 × 18.1 cm (8 11/16 × 7 1/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

A Doorway in Ajaccio

A Doorway in Ajaccio

1901 · brush and gray wash on wove paper

sheet: 15.7 x 9.1 cm (6 3/16 x 3 9/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

At Sea

1901 · pen and brown ink on wove paper

sheet: 15.2 × 9.6 cm (6 × 3 3/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Bohemians

1901 · Etching with foul biting in black ink on ivory laid paper

Image, trimmed within platemark: 8.4 × 5.4 cm (3 5/16 × 2 3/16 in.); Sheet: 8.7 × 5.4 cm (3 7/16 × 2 3/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Museum Interior (?) with a Man Seated

4 11/16 x 3 in. (11.9 x 7.6 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Fulham (Chelsea)

1900 · Facsimile of etching

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Untitled

1899 · ink on paper mounted on cardboard

mount: 5 x 5 3/8 in. (12.8 x 13.7 cm)

Smithsonian American Art Museum

Letter to William Heinemann with corrections for Eden versus Whistler: The Baronet and the Butterfly. A Valentine with a Verdict

Letter to William Heinemann with corrections for Eden versus Whistler: The Baronet and the Butterfly. A Valentine with a Verdict

1898 · Pen and brownish black ink, with graphite, on cream laid paper and etching in blue (recto); pen and brownish black ink and graphite on cream laid paper (verso)

27.2 × 21.5 cm (10 3/4 × 8 1/2 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)

Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)

1898 · Pen and black ink over graphite (recto), and brush and black ink over graphite (verso), on cream wove card

12 × 15.9 cm (4 3/4 × 6 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly with Checkered Wings

Butterfly with Checkered Wings

1898 · Pen and black ink on cream wove card

12.1 × 15.8 cm (4 13/16 × 6 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)

Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)

1898 · 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

15.9 × 12.3 cm (6 5/16 × 4 7/8 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly

1898 · Pen and black ink on cream wove card

12.1 × 15.8 cm (4 13/16 × 6 1/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly

1898 · Pen and black ink on cream wove card

20.8 × 14.6 cm (8 1/4 × 5 3/4 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

A Club on a Cushion

A Club on a Cushion

1898 · Pen and black ink over graphite, with corrections by the artist in white opaque paint, on cream wove card

12 × 16 cm (4 3/4 × 6 5/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly "Encountered" (recto); Sketch for Tailpiece (verso)

Butterfly "Encountered" (recto); Sketch for Tailpiece (verso)

1898 · Pen and black ink over graphite (recto), and graphite (verso), on cream wove card

15.7 × 12.2 cm (6 3/16 × 4 13/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Sketch of the Peacock Room

Sketch of the Peacock Room

1898 · Graphite (recto) on cream wove paper with printed text in black ink (verso)

18.8 × 17.8 cm (7 7/16 × 7 1/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly (recto); Study of Butterfly (verso)

Butterfly (recto); Study of Butterfly (verso)

1898 · Pen and black ink over graphite (recto), and pen and black ink, with corrections by the artist in white opaque paint (verso), on cream wove card

22.5 × 14.3 cm (8 7/8 × 5 11/16 in.)

Art Institute of Chicago

George W. Vanderbilt

George W. Vanderbilt

1897 · oil on canvas

overall: 208.6 x 91.1 cm (82 1/8 x 35 7/8 in.) framed: 229.2 x 113 x 7 cm (90 1/4 x 44 1/2 x 2 3/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Mother and Daughter

Mother and Daughter

1897 · lithograph in black on wove paper

image: 18.7 × 15.8 cm (7 3/8 × 6 1/4 in.) sheet: 32.1 × 25 cm (12 5/8 × 9 13/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

View all 2239 artworks →

Artwork sources (5)

998 published of 1000 catalogued · 825 with image

Art Institute Chicago
810 published810 img
The Met
177 published5 img
Cleveland Museum of Art
5 published5 img
Rijksmuseum
4 published4 img
MoMA
2 publishedof 4 catalogued1 img

Per-Artwork Provenance Chains (top 4)

4 entries · 1 sources

‘Arrangement in Yellow and Gray’: Effie Deans
1876 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
Little Drawbridge, Amsterdam
1889 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
The Garden
1879 · Cleveland · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number
De muziekkamer
1858 · Rijksmuseum · 1 prov
Url Pattern Extraction 2026-05-27·accession_number

Record

Images

10 assets

The Garden (1879–80)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea (1893)

Art Institute of Chicago

Butterfly (c. 1890)

Art Institute of Chicago

Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown: Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy (1894)

Art Institute of Chicago

The Artist in His Studio (1865–66)

Art Institute of Chicago

Grey and Silver: Old Battersea Reach (1863)

Art Institute of Chicago

Coast Scene, Bathers (1884–85)

Art Institute of Chicago

Design cover for West Point Song of the Graduates (1852)

Art Institute of Chicago

View all 10 media items →

Relationships

8

Collections8

Art Institute of Chicago Rijksmuseum The Metropolitan Museum of Art Cleveland Museum of Art Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum of Modern Art

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

Art Institute of Chicago

In collection

Rijksmuseum

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Cleveland Museum of Art

In collection

Smithsonian American Art Museum

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

National Gallery of Art

Market

Auction sale history

Houses that have sold works by this artist at auction

20 lots · 2014–2024

Market

Auction History

Range: $17,640 – $1,200,000

Work	Auction House	Date	Estimate	Hammer Price
The Garden	Christie's	Nov 2024	$10,000 – $15,000	$17,640
Nocturne, from First Venice Set	Christie's	Nov 2024	$20,000 – $30,000	$27,720
Nocturne, from First Venice Set	Christie's	Oct 2024	$50,000 – $70,000	Unsold
The Two Doorways, from First Venice Set	Christie's	Oct 2024	$12,000 – $18,000	Unsold
Draped Figure, reclining	Christie's	Oct 2024	$40,000 – $60,000	Unsold
Howth Head, Near Dublin	Christie's	Jan 2023	$200,000 – $300,000	$239,400
Portrait of the Artist	Christie's	Jan 2022	$30,000 – $50,000	Unsold
Whistler Smoking	Christie's	Nov 2021	$400,000 – $600,000	$1,200,000
Chelsea Shopfronts	Christie's	Nov 2020	£50,000 – £80,000	£60,000
St Ives: The Beach	Christie's	Jul 2020	$80,000 – $120,000	$175,000

Showing 10 of 20 results