Silhouette of a Young Girl

Details

John White Alexander (1856-1915)
Silhouette of a Young Girl
signed 'J.W. Alexander' (lower left)
charcoal on paper
14½ x 10¾ in. (36.8 x 27.3 cm.)

Provenance

Grand Central Art Galleries, New York.
Acquired by the present owner from the above, 1990.

Literature

J. Hardin and V.A. Leeds, In the American Spirit: Realism and Impressionism from the Lawrence Collection, exhibition catalogue, St. Petersburg, Florida, 1999, pp. 28, 29-30, 56, 84, no. 1, illustrated.

Exhibited

New York, Grand Central Art Galleries, Inc., La Femme: The Influence of Whistler and Japanese Print Masters on American Art 1880-1917, October 26-December 30, 1983, no. 24.
St. Petersburg, Florida, Museum of Fine Arts, In the American Spirit: Realism and Impressionism from the Lawrence Collection, March 21-June 13, 1999, no. 1.

Special Notice

On occasion, Christie's has a direct financial interest in the outcome of the sale of certain lots consigned for sale. This will usually be where it has guaranteed to the Seller that whatever the outcome of the auction, the Seller will receive a minimum sale price for the work. This is known as a minimum price guarantee. This is such a lot.

Lot Essay

Jennifer Hardin writes of the present work, "A Whistlerian aesthetic is at work in Alexander's Silhouette of a Young Girl, a charcoal that is exemplary of Alexander's subject and style. It is crisp and distinct, from the gesture of the woman's hands on her hips and the position of her fingers to the folds of her bodice and skirt. The pose is unusual, for the face's profile is almost lost. It affirms that this work is not a portrait but an aestheticized treatment, a harmony in buff, grey, and ebony. Like many paintings from the century's turn, it has its subjects as woman, exquisite and unidentifiable." (In the American Spirit: Realism and Impressionism from the Lawrence Collection, exhibition catalogue, St. Petersburg, Florida, 1999, pp. 29-30)

The present work will be included in John White Alexander's catalogue raisonné being compiled by Mary Anne Goley.

More from Important American Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture

View All