The Purple Cap
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
1870s; reworked 1885
Classification
Drawing
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1905.128a-b
Tags
American ArtCharles Lang Freer collectionUnited Stateswoman
About this artwork
"Take the pastels. Whistler did not discover the medium, but he certainly found a fresh use for it. Instead of rubbing the colour all over the paper, and generally endeavouring to imitate the effect of an oil painting, Whistler made a more crayon-like use of his pastel stick. He drew rather than painted. His colour he used sparingly with dainty, incisive touches. The result was a poetic suggestiveness of form and gem-like brilliancy of colour never seen before nor equalled since."