The Little Hat |  Hunterian Art Gallery (46954) | |
| Number: | 366 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching and drypoint | |
| Size: | 100 x 67 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at right | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 1 | |
| Known impressions: | 8 | |
| Catalogues: | K.335; M.331 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (8) | ||
KEYWORD
clothing, dress, fashion, hat, portrait, woman.
TITLE
It is the hat rather than the sitter that has dominated titles, as for example:
'The Little Hat' (1889, Whistler). 2
'The Hat' (1889, Whistler). 3
'Little Hat' (Caxton Club, 1900). 4
'The Little Hat' (1902, Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932)). 5
'The Hat' (1903/1935, possibly Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958)). 6
Whistler and most cataloguers called it 'The Little Hat', and the shorter versions are probably just that - quick ways of referring to it, but not to be considered the correct title.
'The Little Hat' (1889, Whistler). 2
'The Hat' (1889, Whistler). 3
'Little Hat' (Caxton Club, 1900). 4
'The Little Hat' (1902, Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932)). 5
'The Hat' (1903/1935, possibly Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958)). 6
Whistler and most cataloguers called it 'The Little Hat', and the shorter versions are probably just that - quick ways of referring to it, but not to be considered the correct title.
2: To Fine Art Society, 27 March 1889, GUW #13000.
3: List, 18 July 1889, GUW #13235.
4: Chicago 1900 (cat. no. 301).
5: Kennedy 1902 (cat. no. 306).
6: Envelope containing copper plate, Hunterian Art Gallery.
DESCRIPTION
A half length portrait of a woman, her body turned to right and her face looking straight at the viewer. She is leaning on a shelf or chair to right. She is lit from the left, and is set close to a shaded background, possibly a curtain. She wears a close fitting jacket with a small collar fastening high round her neck. Her hat is set at a rakish angle, the narrow brim tilted down at right and shading her forehead, and plumes of feathers cascading down from the high crown to the up-turned brim at left.
SITTER
Possibly Helen Lenoir (1852-1913). She was etched in The Fur Tippet: Miss Lenoir [365], wearing furs and another hat with an extremely raked brim and tower of feathers.
DISCUSSION
This is one of several etchings where dress and fashion - or a fashion accessory - is specified as the subject although it is also clearly a portrait: see for instance, The Fur Tippet: Miss Lenoir [365],
The Fur Cloak - Mrs Herbert [367],
The Busby [368],
The Little Cloak [370],
The Japanese Dress [371],
and
The Fan [375].