Works – James Abbott McNeill Whistler – Artists A-Z

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]

Maud, Standing

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: c. 1873

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

Object number: 1999.148

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. 114 ix/xii 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. 118. Regard sur cinq années d'expositions (Five years of Exhibitions at a Glance). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1997. Text pp. 75–76; ill. p. 74 (color). [specific reference to Terra print] MacDonald, Margaret F., Susan Grace Galassi, and Aileen Ribeiro with Patricia de Montfort. Whistler, Women and Fashion. (exh. cat., The Frick Collection). New York: The Frick Collection in association with Yale University Press, New Haven and London, 2003. Text p. 139; fig. 130, p. 141. Tedeschi, Martha and Britt Salvesen. "Songs on Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography." Museum Studies 24:1 (1998): 4–135. Text pp. 23, 31 (checklist); fig. 2, p. 23 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print] Lecomte, Vanessa, editor. Portrait of a Lady : peinture et photographies américains (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny and Musée des beaux-arts de Bordeaux). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for American Art, 2008. Text (checklist) p. 95.

Maud, Standing

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: c. 1873

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

Object number: 1989.8

Text Entries: Whistler's Muses The women in James McNeill Whistler's life were often his subjects. His most famous work of art is the portrait of his mother. Whistler's favorite models were also often his mistresses. Around 1870, Maud Franklin replaced long-term companion Joanna Hiffernan, who is immortalized in Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl, 1862 (Washington D. C., National Gallery of Art). Beatrice (or Trixie) Godwin, the widow of a friend, married Whistler in 1888. A devoted couple, the artist was bereft when she died in 1896. Known for a violent temper and her English appearance, Maud Franklin was intelligent and sophisticated, but highly independent and very jealous although devoted to Whistler. Calling herself Mrs. Whistler, she lived with the artist for approximately fifteen years becoming his business manager, agent, housekeeper, cook, and adviser. Depictions of Franklin appear in all Whistler's media and hint at her sustained role as his muse. While her fashionable attire is carefully portrayed in Maud, Standing and Maud on a Stairway, it is her pose in both that commands our interest. Dynamic color and expressive brushwork dominate in Note in Red: The Siesta where Franklin is shown resting-her strong personality subdued in a decorative pattern.

Nocturne (The River at Battersea)

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1878

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

Object number: 1994.7

Text Entries: Way, T. R. Mr. Whistler's Lithographs: The Catalogue. 2nd ed. New York: H. Wunderlich & Company, 1905. No. 5. Levy, Mervyn. Whistler Lithographs: An Illustrated Catalogue Raisonné. London, England: Jupiter Books, 1975. No. 10. Hobbs, Susan and Nesta R. Spink. Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler from the Collection of Steven Louis Block. (exh. cat., Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service). Washington, D. C.: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service, 1982. Text pp. 8, 9; no. 3. Adams, Clinton. American Lithographers 1900–1960: The Artists and Their Printers. Albuquerque, New Mexico: The University of New Mexico Press, 1983. Text p. 8. Lochnan, Katharine A. Whistler and His Circle: Etchings and Lithographs from the Collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario. (exh. cat., Kitchener/Waterloo Art Gallery). Toronto, Ontario: The Gallery, 1986. No. 23, pp. 46–47. Dorment, Richard and Margaret F. MacDonald et al. James McNeill Whistler. (exh. cat., Tate Gallery). London, England: Tate Gallery, 1994. No. 53, p. 129. Stratis, Harriet K. and Martha Tedeschi, eds. The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler. Vol. 1. A Catalogue Raisonné. Chicago, Illinois: The Art Institute of Chicago, 1998. No. 8, pp. 63–66. Cartwright, Derrick R. Waves and Waterways: American Perspectives, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text pp. 21, 28 (checklist); fig. 16, p. 21 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print] Cartwright, Derrick R. Rivières et rivages: les artistes américains, 1850–1900. (exh. cat., Musée d'Art Américain Giverny). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 2000. Text pp. 21, 28 (checklist); fig. 16, p. 21 (black & white). [specific reference to Terra print] 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. 61 (color). Bourguignon, Katherine and Valerie Reis. The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context. (exh. cat, Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny). Paris, France: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2020. Text p. 51; Pl. 30, p. 95 (color).

Bead Stringers

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1879–80

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

Object number: 1992.145

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. 198 vii/viii. 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. 223.

Doorway and Vine

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1879–80

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

Object number: 1992.149

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. 196 vi/ix. 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. 213. Grieve, Alastair. Whistler's Venice. New Haven, Connecticut, and London, England: Yale University Press, 2000. Text pp. 131, 192; fig. 159, p. 130 (K.196 vii).Bourguignon, Katherine and Valerie Reis. The Studio of Nature, 1860-1910: The Terra Collection in Context. (exh. cat, Terra Foundation for American Art with the Musée des Impressionnismes Giverny). Paris, France: Réunion des musées nationaux, 2020. Text p. 52; Ill. p. 96 (detail); Pl. 31, p. 97 (color).

Fishing Boat

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1879–80

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

Object number: 1992.150

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. 208 iii/v. 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. 64, pp. 140–41. 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. 216. Grieve, Alastair. Whistler's Venice. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 2000. Text pp. 138, 139, 192; fig. 171. MacDonald, Margaret F. Palaces in the Night: Whistler in Venice. Hampshire, England: Lund Humphries, 2001. Text pp. 68, 120.

Fish-Shop, Venice

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1879–80

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

Object number: 1992.151

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.

Fruit Stall

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1879–80

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

Object number: 1992.153

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. 200 vii/vii. 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. 45, pp. 105–107. Lochnan, Katharine A. The Etchings of James McNeill Whistler. New Haven, Connecticut and London, England: Art Gallery of Ontario and Yale University Press, 1984. Text p. 224. Grieve, Alastair. Whistler's Venice. New Haven, Connecticut, and London, England: Yale University Press, 2000. Text pp. 136, 192; fig. 167, p. 135. MacDonald, Margaret F. Palaces in the Night: Whistler in Venice. Hampshire, England: Lund Humphries, 2001. Text pp. 73, 120, 124.

The Little Mast

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Date: 1879–80

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

Object number: 1992.154

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.