From Merton Villa to the Rue du Bac: Whistler and the Birnie Philip family in London and Paris

This essay investigates Whistler’s life between his London and Paris studios during the 1890s and his relations with his wife Beatrix’s large extended family, the Birnie Philips. Drawing on correspondence from the University of Glasgow’s Whistler archive and important late portraits of his Birnie Philip sisters-in-law from the Hunterian’s Whistler collection, it explores the settings for Whistler’s day to day creative and business relationship with the family and reflects upon the nature of their supportive presence and creative spirit. In particular, it examines how this underpinned the rise of Whistler’s artistic status during the final decade of his career.