The Riva No. 1

James McNeill Whistler's The Riva, No. 1 shows the Riva degli Schiavoni, Venice's main quay, as it curves eastward away from the Ducal Palace at the heart of the city. Docked boats and ships, clusters of pedestrians on the embankment, a row of buildings, and the bridge arching over a canal at left of center define this sweeping stretch of the city's waterfront. A gondola, propelled by its gondolier, is depicted at the right. In contrast to such intimate views of Venice's more everyday quarters as his The Two Doorways (TF 1995.22), The Riva, No. 1 presents the city's more public face, a locale well known to tourists and familiar from other artists' depictions.

The Riva, No. 1 is one of two variant etchings the artist executed of this scene, taken from an upper story of the Casa Jankowitz, the residence Whistler occupied during much of his fourteen-month stay in Venice in 1879 and 1880 with his model and mistress, Maud Franklin, who earlier posed for the two etchings entitled Maud, Standing (TF 1989.8) and (TF 1999.148) also in the Terra Foundation's Collection, as well as other works. In Venice, Whistler created fifty etchings of local scenes in addition to numerous pastels and a few paintings—far more works than required by his commission from the Fine Art Society, a London gallery, which had prompted the artist's trip to Italy. Following his return to London in November 1880, Whistler included The Riva, No. 1 in his exhibition at the Fine Art Society and in the published portfolio titled "Twelve Etchings," known as the "First Venice Set," which also included Beggars (TF 1994.8).

The Venetian Scene, Fermoy Art Gallery, King's Lynn, 1984, no. 16.

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

Regard sur James Abbott McNeill Whistler (James Abbott McNeill Whistler at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 30, 1994.

On Process: The American Print, Technique Examined, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, January 13–March 2, 2001.

Prendergast in Italy, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown, Massachusetts, July 18–September 20, 2009; The Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy, October 9, 2009–January 3, 2010; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas, February 14–May 9, 2010. [exh. cat.]

Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865–1945, Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art (organizers). Venue:  Shanghai Museum, Shanghai, China, September 28, 2018–January 6, 2019.   [exh. cat.]

Kennedy, Edward Guthrie. The Etched Work of Whistler. Illustrated by reproductions in collotype of the different states of the plates. New York: Grolier Club, 1910. No. 192 iii/iii.

Lochnan, Katharine A. The Etchings of James McNeill Whistler. New Haven, Connecticut and London, England: Art Gallery of Ontario and Yale University Press, 1984. No. 203.

Grieve, Alastair. Whistler's Venice. New Haven, Connecticut and London, England: Yale University Press, 2000. Text pp. 32, 107, 109, 189; fig. 124, p. 108.

MacDonald, Margaret F. Palaces in the Night: Whistler in Venice. Hampshire, England: Lund Humphries, 2001. Text pp. 88, 94, 120, 128; fig. 5. Pathways to Modernism: American Art, 1865-1945. (exh. cat. Shanghai Museum with Art Institute of Chicago and Terra Foundation for American Art). Shanghai: Shanghai Museum, 2018. Text p. 56; ill. p. 58 (color).

Rossetti de Toledo, Carolina, Ana Gonçalves Magalhães, and Peter John Brownlee. Atelier 17 e a gravura moderna nas Americas / Atelier 17 and Modern Printmaking in the Americas. (exh. cat., Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo). São Paulo, Brazil: 2019. Text pp. 23, ill. 1, p. 25 (color).