James Abbott McNeill Whistler  (1834 - 1903)

La Vieille aux Loques

[The Old Rag Woman]

Kennedy 21, Mansfield 21, Glasgow 27

etching, 1858, on fine, crisp, light-grayish laid paper, with wide though irregular margins (probably torn from an old ledger, as Whistler was then fond of such antique papers), a splendid third state impression of this landmark print, with a prestigious provenance

First published in Paris as part of the French Set, this etching was Whistler's first seated female profile portrait, probably drawn from nature that autumn in the streets of the city.   The rich graphic potential of the setting in a darkened doorway was a theme that Whistler would pursue and develop over the next thirty years.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler  (1834 - 1903)

The Doorway

Kennedy 188.5, Mansfield 185, Glasgow 193.10

etching, with drypoint, roulette, and carefully wiped plate-tone, 1879-80, on medium-fine laid paper with the "hunting horn in shield" watermark, trimmed to the platemark, signed on the tab, annotated and again signed on the verso by the artist, a superb and very rare early proof impression of this exceptional print

First exhibited in 1880, and published as part of Venice, a Series of Twelve Etchings (the "First Venice Set") in the same year, this print takes up one of Whister's favorite themes, depicting the elaborate Renaissance façade of the Palazzo Gussoni, then a chairbler's shop, with a young woman on the stairway at water's edge, who is shown in some states to be washing out linen.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler  (1834 - 1903)

Fishing Boat

Kennedy 208, Mansfield 205, Glasgow 198

etching, 1879-1880, on medium-fine laid paper with the Strasbourg lily watermark, trimmed to the platemark, signed on the tab, a superb and rare 4th state impression of this fine print

First exhibited in 1883, and published as part of A Set of Twenty-six Etchings (the "Second Venice Set") in 1886, this etching depicts a moored bragozzo on the Venetian lagoon, draped in drying fishing nets, with the Santa Maria della Salute basilica and the Punta della Dogana, with its famous statue of Fortuna, in the far background, to the right.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler  (1834 - 1903)

Drury Lane

Kennedy 237, Mansfield, 234, Glasgow 243

etching, 1880-1881, on very thin antique laid paper, only state, with thread margins, a fine early proof impression of this rare work

First exhibited in 1883, and published as part of A Set of Twenty-six Etchings (the "Second Venice Set") in 1886, this etching depicts a "snapshot" view of this somewhat run-down London neighborhood, with a lone busker, right, and various passersby, in front of a wide passageway, opening onto a finely etched street scene in the far background.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler  (1834 - 1903)

Early Morning

Way 7, Spink, Stratis and Tedeschi  9

lithotint, 1878, on medium-weight cream wove paper, 4th state (of 4), a fine impression with full margins

Whistler's third lithotint, a view of Battersea (and a companion piece to his previous Nocturne), was reworked in four states, the present atmospheric version showing his intent to depict a bright misty riverfront dawn; it was intended for publication, although the magazine closed down before the edition could be completed, and thus full sheets with letters (such as the present impression) are quite rare.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler  (1834 - 1903)

Nude Model, Standing

[Modèle Nu, Debout]

Way 154, Spink, Stratis and Tedeschi  48

lithograph, probably 1891, on thin greyish-white chine paper, only known state, with good margins, a fine working proof impression

In the early 1890s, Whistler executed a number of transfer lithographs, ostensibly in view of developing a series of colour prints with the Parisian imprimeur Belfond.  As this project was never finalized, this fine lithograph was never published, and is thus exceptionally rare.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler  (1834 - 1903)

The Laundress

[La Blanchisseuse de la Place Dauphine]

Spink, Stratis and Tedeschi  93

transfer lithograph, 1894, on cream laid Japan paper, only known state, with full margins, an exceptional early impression, signed by the artist with his butterfly monogram in pencil, and annotated, possibly by the printer

In 1894, Whistler undertook a series of transfer lithographs, most of which were informal Parisian street scenes; these were printed by Thomas Way the same year in London.  This fine print, depicting a laundry shopfront in central Paris, is one of his very best, as he acknowledged in a letter to the printer in August 1894.