System Number: 05820
Date: [29/30 April 1895][1]
Author: JW
Place: Paris
Recipient: David Croal Thomson[2]
Place: London
Repository: Glasgow University Library
Call Number: MS Whistler T165
Document Type: ALS
110. Rue du Bac - Paris -
Dear Mr Thomson -
Well that's all right - And now tell me - were you down at the Tite Street sale[3] yourself? - and why was there such a rowdy dow going on!
The whole thing must have been most extraordinary! - Your account[4] of the shilling sketch[5] is very graphic! -
[p. 2] Here you have your letter from the N. Y. Herald[6] - Capital. -
You don't say much about the Eden[7] account in the French paper I sent you - I mean the "Conversation" in "Le Journal" -
Did I send you the letter of M. M. Mirbeau[8] & Vielé-Griffin àpropos of Mr Moore's[9] "loquacité[10]" in the Chronicle -
I enclose it - but if you have had it, send it back -
Now most important - I have quite mislaid the note in which you said that something was to be done for Kennedy[11] -
Write and tell me all about it -
Very sincerely and with many thanks for all the kind trouble you always take
J McN Whistler.
This document is protected by copyright.
Envelope:
ToD. C. Thomson Esq
The Goupil Galleries
5. Regent Street
London -
Angleterre -
Notes:
1. [29/30 April 1895]
This is a reply to D. C. Thomson's letter of 27 April 1895, #05819.
2. David Croal Thomson
David Croal Thomson (1855-1930), art dealer [more].
3. sale
The sale of possessions of Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wilde (1854-1900), writer, critic and playwright [more], who was declared bankrupt and the contents of his home at 16 Tite Street home forcibly sold at auction on 24 April 1895, just before his trial.
5. shilling sketch
A drawing by JW had been bought for a shilling by Joseph Pennell (1860-1926), printer and illustrator, JW's biographer [more], at the Wilde sale, Bullock, London, 24 April 1895. Thomson bought r.: Maud Franklin; v.: Study of Maud Franklin (M.693) back for JW. It is not known what Pennell bought at the sale, as his name is not recorded among the purchasers.
6. N. Y. Herald
The New York Herald had published an account of the Wilde sale, with incorrect price details (see #08286 and #05819).
7. Eden
JW's dispute with Sir William Eden (1849-1915), painter and collector [more], over possession of Brown and Gold: Portrait of Lady Eden (YMSM 408), received extensive press coverage between 1894 and 1899.
8. M. M. Mirbeau
Octave Mirbeau (1848-1917), novelist, art critic and amateur painter [more] and Francis Vielé-Griffin (1863/1864-1937), poet [more] to G. Moore, 15 March 1895, #04081, originally published in L'Indépendance Belge, was translated and excerpts published in The Times, 9 April 1895. JW challenged Moore to a duel and Mirbeau and Viélé-Griffin were his seconds.
9. Mr Moore's
George Moore (1852-1933), novelist and art critic [more]. An interview with Moore published as 'A Picture and a Challenge. The Strange Story of Mr. Whistler and Mr. Moore', The Daily Chronicle, 29 March 1895, was condensed and retold in 'The Gentle Art of Duelling. Mr. Whistler and Mr. Moore', Westminster Gazette, 29 March 1895.
10. loquacité
Fr., talkativeness.
11. Kennedy
Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932), dealer with H. Wunderlich and Co., New York [more].