Ethel Whibley (née Philip; 29 September 1861 – 21 April 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-1890s. Her sister Beatrice (also called 'Beatrix' or 'Trixie') married James McNeill Whistler in 1888, following the death of her first husband

Edward William Godwin Edward William Godwin (26 May 1833, Bristol – 6 October 1886, London) was a progressive English architect-designer, who began his career working in the strongly polychromatic " Ruskinian Gothic" style of mid-Victorian Britain, inspired by ...

. In 1896 Ethel married the writer

Charles Whibley Charles Whibley (9 December 1859 – 4 March 1930) was an English literary journalist and author. In literature and the arts, his views were progressive. He supported James Abbott McNeill Whistler (they had married sisters). He also recommended ...

. Her sister Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) subsequently acted as secretary to Whistler and was appointed Whistler's executrix at his death.

Life

Ethel Philip reading a newsppaper by Beatrix Whistler

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 (23 November 1824 – 2 March 1875) was a nineteenth-century English sculptor. Much of his work was carried out for the architect Sir George Gilbert Scott. Life Philip was born in London, the son of William and Elizabeth Ph ...

and Frances Black. Ethel married

in 1896 in the garden of the house occupied by

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

at n° 110 Rue du Bac, Paris. Before her marriage Ethel worked for a time in 1893–94 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 Beatrice Whistler was referred to a 'Trixie' or 'Chinkie'; his sister-in-law and secretary (1890–94) Ethel Whibley was 'Bunnie'; his brother-in-law

was 'Wobbles'; his sister-in-law and secretary Rosalind Birnie Philip was referred to as the 'Major'; with Whistler signing family correspondence as the 'General' when he did not sign with his butterfly signature.

James McNeill Whistler's portraits of Ethel

Portraits in oil of Ethel Whibley are titled: * '' Mother of Pearl and Silver: The Andalusian'' (1888–1900) * ''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)Catalogue Number: GLAHA 46342, Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow

References

External links

The Correspondence of James McNeill Whistler, Glasgow University
Formerly the work of the Centre For Whistler Studies.
University of Glasgow, Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whibley, Ethel 1861 births 1920 deaths English artists' models People of the Victorian era Victorian era Women of the Victorian era

Life

James McNeill Whistler's portraits of Ethel

Further reading

References

External links