Artwork
Alice Butt
Alice Butt is an oil painting by the American Impressionist artist James McNeill Whistler. It dates from 1895 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:center left with the artist's butterfly mark
About this work
Technique & Style
Created in 1895, Alice Butt is an oil painting executed on canvas. The work functions as a portrait, measuring 51.7 cm in height and 38.1 cm in width. The piece is currently held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
History & Provenance
After Reisinger's death it remained with his family, including his widow Edmée Busch Reisinger and their son Curt H.
Alice Butt was painted by James McNeill Whistler in 1895 in oil on canvas. The work passed through several owners, including Alexander Reid in Glasgow, J.J. Cowan in Edinburgh, and Vose Galleries in Boston, before being acquired by Hugo Reisinger in 1908. After Reisinger's death it remained with his family, including his widow Edmée Busch Reisinger and their son Curt H. Reisinger, until it was given to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., in 1948.
Context
Alice Butt passed through several private collections, including that of Hugo Reisinger and his family, before entering the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., where it remains. Although the painting has been discussed in relation to Whistler's portraiture and his transatlantic networks, no dedicated critical scholarship on this specific work has been identified in the available sources, and its documented history rests largely on provenance records rather than contemporary critical commentary.
Overview
Created around 1895, this oil on canvas presents a half‑length portrait of a young woman identified as Alice Butt. The composition is simple, set against a uniform warm brown backdrop, and captures the sitter from the chest upward with a forward‑facing pose and a slight tilt of the head to the right.
Subject & Meaning
Alice Butt, a member of Whistler’s social circle during his years in Britain, is rendered with a neutral expression and a distant gaze, suggesting an understated, introspective presence rather than a narrative or moralizing theme.
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Artist & collection
Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834 – July 17, 1903) was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
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