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Library Print Exhibition Celebrates Whistler Centenary
Opens January 24 in the Print and Stokes Galleries
Known for his combative personality and his acerbic wit, James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) was a prominent personality whose high-profile altercations were much publicized on both sides of the Atlantic. An expatriate, he left the United States at 21 after floundering at West Point. Exchanging his ineptitude in chemistry for a passion for art, he moved to Paris and became a respected, if notorious, artist. His artistic achievements were controversial at the time and continue to be debated among critics today. One aspect of his oeuvre, however, has brought him near-constant acclaim: his prints. Altogether, Whistler produced over 600 etchings, drypoints, and lithographs. Living in Paris, London, and Venice, he was exposed to a range of artistic styles: realism, aestheticism, impressionism, and classicism. From the rustic charm of the French Set to the gritty realism of the Thames Set and the decorative aestheticism of the First and Second Venice Sets, his published collections reflect these stylistic influences and document Whistler’s evolution as an artist. Leading off the exhibition is a selection of self-portraits. Spanning twenty-some years, the three etched self-portraits offer glimpses of the artist at various stages of his career. Although he experienced potentially devastating personal, critical, and financial crises, Whistler remained resilient. His third and final self-portrait is annotated with a form of the self-portrait: Whistler’s trademark butterfly signature. Originally a compression of his initials, the butterfly monogram would, over time, become more intricate and detailed. He frequently used this distinctive mark to sign his art works. More than a physical signature, the butterfly became a personal signifier that was uniquely his own. The illustration at left is a variant form of his butterfly signature. In 1858, three years after moving to Paris, Whistler published
his first set of prints, Twelve Etchings from Nature, popularly
known as the French Set. Comprising landscapes, portraits, and
figure and genre studies, these works reflect Whistler’s interest
in 17th-century Dutch art, as well as his involvement in the contemporary
realist movement. Published with few overhead costs, the sets were fairly
priced and sold well. Critics praised their picturesque charm, and Whistler
himself considered them among his best work. With this auspicious beginning,
Whistler launched a prolific and enduring career in etching.
In 1859, after the successful launch of his printmaking career with the publication of the French Set, Whistler moved to London in search of heroic subject matter and willing patrons. Turning to London’s gritty industrial core, the docks of the lower Thames, Whistler found a subject perfectly suited to expressing his realist aims and exploring new methods of formulating compositions. Discovering the Baudelarian “marvelous” in the everyday, Whistler immersed himself in the rugged atmosphere, living for several months among the dockworkers and laborers he depicted. Unlike the French Set prints, many of which were based on preparatory drawings, Whistler drew his Thames images directly on the plate. In 1871 the plates were sold to the publishing firm Ellis & Green, which issued 100 sets entitled A Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames and Other Subjects, known as the Thames Set, to favorable critical response. A reviewer for Punch urged “all lovers of good art and marvelous etching” to purchase the portfolio. Commissioned by the Fine Art Society of London to create a set of twelve etchings, Whistler left London for Venice in 1880. Inspired by the “floating city,” he extended his three-month stay to over a year, during which time he created numerous works, including fifty etchings. He recorded glimpses and unexpected views of the city’s most famous sites as well as its hidden corners. Upon returning to London in 1881, he made a selection of the etchings, which were published as Venice, Whistler. Twelve Etchings, known as the First Venice Set, and exhibited by the Fine Art Society. Whistler took full responsibility for the printing of the 100 sets, sensitively wiping and inking the plates to produce almost unique impressions. His meticulous process was very time-consuming: although in the ensuing twenty years he completed most of the printing, the remainder of the edition was printed posthumously. In 1883, the Fine Art Society held another exhibition of Whistler’s etchings. While the first showing of his Venetian prints met with unfavorable reviews, this second exhibition, comprised of other selections from the fifty etchings he had made in Venice and several London prints, was a tour-de-force. Whistler conceived the entire gallery as a work of art, called Arrangement in Yellow and White, which inspired the yellow wall color of the current exhibition. The Fine Art Society, reeling from debates over the cost of the exhibition and waiting for the completion of the First Venice Set, no longer published sets of Whistler’s prints. The firm Dowdeswell and Dowdeswell stepped in and in 1886 published A Set of Twenty-six Etchings, known as the Second Venice Set. Not only an etcher, Whistler was deeply involved with lithography, producing some 170 lithographs between 1878 and 1897, mostly with the printer Thomas Way. Inspired by the moody character of Whistler’s paintings, Way revived a technique called the lithotint, with which the artist could attain painterly effects. Whistler’s earliest lithographs (and all of his lithotints) were drawn directly on stone. Soon, however, he began using easily transportable lithographic transfer paper. Whistler would draw on the paper; the drawing was then transferred to a lithographic stone and printed. Twenty-two lithographs and lithotints are on view in the exhibition. Poetry of Sight: The Prints of James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), curated by Nicole Simpson and Elizabeth Wyckoff of The New York Public Library’s Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs, draws from the Library’s extensive holdings of Whistler materials spanning several collections. In addition to his prints, the exhibition includes portraits of Whistler done by other artists as well as autograph letters and diaries. The Print Collection’s S. P. Avery Collection, comprising nearly 18,000 prints, is especially rich in early impressions of Whistler’s prints, many inscribed at the collector’s behest. The Print Collection is also home to the A. E. Gallatin Collection of Whistler Portraits, which documents Whistler’s enormous appeal as a subject for other artists. Manuscript holdings documenting Whistler’s family life and his correspondence with dealer Edward G. Kennedy and printer Thomas Way are found in the Manuscripts and Archives Division and the Henry W. and Albert A. Berg Collection of English and American Literature. Poetry of Sight: The Prints of James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) will be on view from January 24 through May 10, 2003 at The New York Public Library’s Humanities and Social Sciences Library in the Print and Stokes Galleries. Exhibition hours are Tuesday and Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; Thursday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; closed Sundays, Mondays, and national holidays. Admission is free. For more information about exhibitions at The New York Public Library, the public may call 212.869.8089 or visit the Library’s website at www.nypl.org. This exhibition has been made possible by the continuing generosity of Miriam and Ira D. Wallach. ###
Contact: Sabina Potaczek or Herb Scher 212.221.7676
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