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Last item added 2007.1 Lily Martin Spencer, Home of the Red, White and Blue

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The Lime-burner

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1859

Credit Line: Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Object number: 1995.4

Text Entries: 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. 46. Fryberger, Betsy G. Whistler: Themes and Variations. (exh. cat., Stanford University Museum of Art). Stanford, California: Stanford Art Book, 1978. No. 6, p. 19. Fine, Ruth E. Drawing Near: Whistler Etchings from the Zelman Collection. (exh. cat., Los Angeles County Museum of Art). Los Angeles, California: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1984. No. 17, pp. 56–57. 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. 49. Dorment, Richard and Margaret F. MacDonald et al. James McNeill Whistler. (exh. cat., Tate Gallery). London, England: Tate Gallery, 1994. No. 31, pp. 101–102. McNamara, Carole and John Siewert. Whistler: Prosaic Views, Poetic Vision. (exh. cat., University of Michigan Museum of Art). Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1994. No. 14, pp. 54–55.

Rotherhithe

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1860

Credit Line: Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Object number: 1995.5

Text Entries: The London Etchings Refining the prosaic etching technique learned while working for the US Coast and Geodetic Survey, James McNeill Whistler won recognition for his artistic prints of topographical views of Paris in 1858. A few years later, the Thames Set, sixteen etchings portraying the poverty of the working class along London's river thoroughfare, brought him international critical approval when exhibited in London and Paris. The Venetian Etchings Winning the notorious Whistler v. Ruskin libel trail in 1878 was a financial disaster for the artist, who was awarded a single farthing but had to pay substantial court costs. A commission from the London Fine Arts Society for twelve etchings of Venice offered Whistler an opportunity to redeem his artistic reputation. Working outdoors during his fourteen-month stay, Whistler drew directly onto a copper plate is an impressionistic interpretation of a scene that diverged significantly from his detailed etchings of London. Whistler's emphasis on the plane parallel to the surface distinguishes his views of Venice from other artists. The emphasis is not merely formal, but a way of creating a sense of theatrical anticipation. Contrasts of light and texture are emphasized by the broken intricately cross-hatched lines with which Whistler drew the figures, decaying bricks and the light wiry lines that depict the people. Returning to London in December 1880, Whistler displayed twelve of his fifty Venice etchings at the London Fine Arts Society. Known as the First Venice Set, the exhibition alternated six horizontal and six vertical subjects. The Second Venice Set of twenty-six etchings was exhibited in 1883. While the compositions range in subject from private courtyard scenes to tourist views, they all have a theatrical quality to them. Whistler's command of portraying depth in his etched landscapes and his emphasis on working from the center to the edge of the paper distinguish the series.

Riault, the Engraver

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1860

Credit Line: Terra Foundation for American Art, Daniel J. Terra Collection

Object number: 1995.53

Text Entries: Brownell, William C. "Whistler in Painting and Etching." Scribner's Monthly 18:4 (August 1879): 486–90, 493–95. Ill. p. 488. Mansfield, Howard. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings and Dry-points of James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Chicago, Illinois: Caxton Club, 1909. No. 65. 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. 65, i/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. 69. Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. The People Work: American Perspectives, 1840–1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 24, 30 (checklist); fig. 13, p. 24 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print] Bourguignon, Katherine M. and Elizabeth Kennedy. Le Travail à l'oeuvre: les artistes américains, 1840–1940. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2003. Text pp. 24, 30 (checklist); fig. 13, p. 24 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print]