James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Battersea Morn (also Battersea Dawn)

1875

James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Limehouse, etching, 1859. References: Glasgow 48, fifth state (of 6), Kennedy 40, third state (of 3), signed with the butterfly in pencil in the lower margin. [Also signed and dated in the plate.]With margins, 5 x 7 7/8 inches, the sheet 6 1/2 x 9 1/2 inches. Published as no. 12 in A Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames and Other Subjects, otherwise known as the Thames Set. In good condition apart from a soft diagonal fold in the sky. A very fine impression, in black ink on a thin Japan paper. Provenance: Dr. John W. Randall (cf. Lugt 2130), without his mark, annotated on the mat. Limehouse, the entrance to the West Indies Docks, lies opposite the Surrey Commercial Docks in Rotherhithe, along the lower Thames. It’s unusual to find the signed butterfly (or any pencil signature) on the early London etchings, but it is known that Whistler signed...

James Whistler (1834-1903), Old Putney Bridge, 1879, etching and drypoint, signed in pencil with a large, elaborate shaded butterfly, lower right and inscribed imp (also signed with the butterfly in the plate), printed in dark-brown/black ink on laid paper, watermark ProPatria, an impression in Glasgow’s seventh (final) state, published by The Fine Art Society, probably printed in 1881, 8x 11 3/4 inches, sheet 12 1/8 x 16 1/8 inches. Reference: Kennedy 178; Glasgow 185. Provenance: Kraushaar Gallery, New York A fine impression, with wide margins. The Fine Art Societys relationship with Whistler began with the new etchings of the Thames he made in 1879, following a visit from Ernest Brown who had joined the staff of the gallery. The plate is on a large scale and shows the change in the artists approach to the Thames since the etchings he had made in Wapping and the docks in the summer of 1859. The central motif is the old bridge, by this stage somewhat dilapidated. It was shortly to be demolished and replaced by the new bridge of Cornish granite...

James McNeill Whistler (1830-1903), Lagoon: Noon, etching and drypoint, 1879-1880, signed with the butterfly and inscribed “imp” on the tab [also signed with the butterfly in the plate lower left]. Reference: Glasgow 209, third state (of 3), Kennedy 216, third state (of 3); Lochnan 231, 4 7/8 x 7 7/8 inches. A fine impression with very little plate tone, and printed with extraordinary attention to the etching and drypoint details. The printed butterfly, usually only barely visible, is clearly defined in this impression (see detail below). Kennedy mades special note that an impression like this, with the clearly visible butterfly, was in the collection of John H. Wrenn. On a commission from the Fine Arts Society, Whistler created the plates of his Venice series...

James Whistler, The Little Putney, 1879, etching and drypoint, signed with the large butterfly lower right (also with the butterfly in the plate). Glasgow 187, third state (of 3). 12...

Etching printed in dark brownish black ink on cream laid paper, 6 x 8 7/8 inches (152 x 226 mm); full margins. Extremely minor and unobtrusive band of toning along the top sheet edg...

Barges, Dordrecht Etching, c. 1886 Signed in the plate with the butterfly Edition: One of 10 known impressions of this image. VERY RARE Provenance: Frederick Keppel & Co. with their ...

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834 - 1903, British) "Fulham (Chelsea Church)" Etching Year 1865 8" x 5 1/8 unframed 13.75 x 17.25" framed

Whistler, James A. M. NOCTURNE: PALACES. Glascow 200, Kennedy 202. Etching and drypoint with platetone, 1879-80. From the Second Venice Set. Signed on the tab with the butterfly in pencil. Printed in sepia on laid paper with no visible watermark. Trimmed just outside the platemark, leaving the tab. In excellent condition. As with all of the Whistler Nocturnes, each impressions of this print is different, dependng on how Whistler wiped and manipulated the platetone. 11 5/8 x 7 7/8 inches (plate and sheet, plus the tab). Framed to 20 x 16 inches. Provenance: Collection of Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, Jr. with his collection stamp (Lugt 1429) verso; Kennedy Galleries, with its inventory number a65609 in pencil verso, and with another inscription, "FWCX" in pencil, verso. Thomas Jefferson Coolidge, 1831-1920, was a great-grandson of Thomas Jefferson, a powerful Boston businessman, and an Ambassador to France. In 1875 he became the manager of the largest textile mill in America, the Amoskeag Mill in Manchester New Hampshire, and had major financial interests in the textile, banking, railroad, publishing and electrical industries. In 1880 he became the President of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway. He was one of the founders of the United Fruit Company...