Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)
James McNeill Whistler · 1898/99 · Pen and black ink over graphite (recto), and pen and black ink over graphite, with corrections by the artist in white opaque paint (verso), on cream wove card
Public domain
Marked public domain (CC0) by the Art Institute of Chicago.
How this license was checked
aic:is_public_domain=true
About this picture
Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso) is a public-domain drawing by James McNeill Whistler, dated 1898/99. Pen and black ink over graphite (recto), and pen and black ink over graphite, with corrections by the artist in white opaque paint (verso), on cream wove card. The file comes from Art Institute of Chicago.
“Butterfly (recto); Fragment of Butterfly (verso)” (1898/99) is meant to be read as a harmony of tone. Whistler often called such pictures arrangements or nocturnes rather than views of a place.
About the artist
James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) was an American artist working in London and Paris. He titled many pictures as arrangements or nocturnes, asking that they be seen as harmonies of tone, not only as portraits of a place.
Each file is included because the source archive marks it public domain or CC0. That is the archive’s statement, not a guarantee. Check the source record for your own use, especially outside the United States.