Ethel Whibley
Encyclopedia
Ethel Whibley née Birnie Philip, (29 September, 1861 — 21 May, 1920), was the sister-in-law of James McNeill Whistler
. Ethel was a secretary to Whistler who used Ethel as a model for a number of full-length portraits painted during the period 1888 to the mid 1890's.
Ethel was born at Chelsea, London on 29 September 1861. Ethel was 4th of ten children of the sculptor John Birnie Philip
and Frances Black. Ethel married Charles Whibley
in 1896 in the garden of the house occupied by James Abbott McNeill Whistler at 110 rue du Bac, Paris. Ethel died on 21 May 1920.
Her sister Beatrix (b. 1857) married James McNeill Whistler
in 1888, following the death of her first husband Edward William Godwin
. Her sister Rosalind Birnie Philip (b. 1873) also acted as secretary to Whistler and was appointed Whistler's executrix at his death.
Before her marriage Ethel worked for a time in 1893-4 as secretary to James McNeill Whistler
. Whistler painted a number of full-length portraits of Ethel, including Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian and the watercolour Rose and Silver: Portrait of Mrs Whibley ; and other sketches and etchings of her titled as Miss Ethel Philip or Mrs Whibley.
Correspondence between family members addressed personal, social and professional matters as Whistler’s sisters-in-law acted as his models and secretaries to manage his business affairs. In correspondence Beatrix Whistler was referred to a ‘Trixie' or 'Chinkie'; his sister-in-law and secretary (1890-94) Ethel Whibley was ‘Bunnie’; his brother-in-law Charles Whibley
was ‘Wobbles’; his sister-in-law and secretary Rosalind Birnie Philip (the ‘Major’); with Whistler signing family correspondence as ‘the ‘General’ where he did not sign with his butterfly signature.
Portraits in oil of Ethel Whibley are titled:
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
. Ethel was a secretary to Whistler who used Ethel as a model for a number of full-length portraits painted during the period 1888 to the mid 1890's.
Ethel was born at Chelsea, London on 29 September 1861. Ethel was 4th of ten children of the sculptor John Birnie Philip
John Birnie Philip
.John Birnie Philip was a notable English sculptor of the 19th century.He studied at the Government School of Design at Somerset House in London under John Rogers Herbert, and then at Herbert's own newly opened school in Maddox Street. He worked in Pugin's wood carving workshop at the Palace of...
and Frances Black. Ethel married Charles Whibley
Charles Whibley
Charles Whibley was an English literary journalist and author. Whibley’s style was described by Matthew as “often acerbic high-tory commentary”.-Life:...
in 1896 in the garden of the house occupied by James Abbott McNeill Whistler at 110 rue du Bac, Paris. Ethel died on 21 May 1920.
Her sister Beatrix (b. 1857) married James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
in 1888, following the death of her first husband Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin
Edward William Godwin was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic "Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by The Stones of Venice, then moved on to provide designs in the "Anglo-Japanese taste" of the Aesthetic...
. Her sister Rosalind Birnie Philip (b. 1873) also acted as secretary to Whistler and was appointed Whistler's executrix at his death.
Before her marriage Ethel worked for a time in 1893-4 as secretary to James McNeill Whistler
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
. Whistler painted a number of full-length portraits of Ethel, including Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian and the watercolour Rose and Silver: Portrait of Mrs Whibley ; and other sketches and etchings of her titled as Miss Ethel Philip or Mrs Whibley.
Correspondence between family members addressed personal, social and professional matters as Whistler’s sisters-in-law acted as his models and secretaries to manage his business affairs. In correspondence Beatrix Whistler was referred to a ‘Trixie' or 'Chinkie'; his sister-in-law and secretary (1890-94) Ethel Whibley was ‘Bunnie’; his brother-in-law Charles Whibley
Charles Whibley
Charles Whibley was an English literary journalist and author. Whibley’s style was described by Matthew as “often acerbic high-tory commentary”.-Life:...
was ‘Wobbles’; his sister-in-law and secretary Rosalind Birnie Philip (the ‘Major’); with Whistler signing family correspondence as ‘the ‘General’ where he did not sign with his butterfly signature.
Portraits in oil of Ethel Whibley are titled:
- Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian (1888-1896)
- Sketch for a Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip (1880s/1890s)
- Sketch of Miss Ethel Philip (1890s)
- Red and Black: The Fan (1891/1894)
- Harmony in Brown: The Felt Hat (1891)
- Miss Ethel Philip Reading (c. 1894)
- Rose et or: La Tulipe (1892/1893)
- Harmony in Black: Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip (c. 1894)
- The Rose Scarf (c.1890) (Oil on wood)
Further Reading
- McLaren Young, Andrew, MacDonald, Margaret F., Spencer, Robin and Miles, Hamish, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1980 (YMSM 378. 388, 389, 395, 418, 419)
- MacDonald, Margaret F., Galassi, Susan Grace and Ribeiro, Aileen, Whistler, Women, & Fashion, Frick Collection/Yale University (2003)
External links
- The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, Glasgow University Formerly the work of the Centre For Whistler Studies.
- University of Glasgow, Special Collections