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James Abbott McNeill Whistler
J. Becquet, Sculptor

1859

$3,500
£2,656.45
€3,061.77
CA$4,904.98
A$5,474.38
CHF 2,880.15
MX$66,498.66
NOK 36,512.65
SEK 34,171.27
DKK 22,851.10

About the Item

J. Becquet, Sculptor Etching & drypoint, 1859 Unsigned as issued From: The Thames Set Printed on this Japanese tissue Rich impression Condition: Excellent Plate/Image size: 9 7/8 x 7 1/2 inches Total impressions made from the plate per Glasgow: 96 Note: The original title of the work, The Fiddler is misleading and now deemed incorrect. Becquet is depicted playing a cello. J. Becquet, sculptor was the only portrait published with the 'Thames Set' in 1871 and clearly it has nothing whatsoever to do with the Thames! The plate was canceled with grid lines after final state was printed Reference: Glasgow 62 v/VI, Kennedy 52 James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, James Whistler became one of the most influential late 19th-century American painters and etchers, although he lived primarily in England. He worked in a wide variety of styles that included Impressionism, Symbolism, and Art Nouveau. He was especially influential in the Tonalist movement and was a catalyst for those who wanted to break away from prescribed academic methods, credited with being the first American modernist to influence European art. He also created 179 lithographs, having received a commission in 1879, and from that time, he worked in graphics, pastel, and watercolor, and favorite subjects were subtly delineated cityscapes or ships at docks. He was raised both in New England and in Russia where his father, an engineer, was commissioned by the Czar to build the Moscow-St. Petersburg railroad. In 1847, Whistler went to London for his sister's wedding to Seymour Haden, a key figure in 19th century etching, and association with this man stimulated Whistler's interest in that medium. After the father's death in 1849, the family returned to the United States, and he entered the Military Academy at West Point where he did illustrations for student publications and also worked as surveyor and cartographer in U.S. Coastal and Geodetic Surveys. In 1855, determined to have a fine art career, he sailed for Europe and never returned to the United States. He studied in Paris with Charles Gleyre and became a part of avant-garde circles that included Henri Fantin-Latour, Alphonse Legros, Edouard Manet, Gustave Courbet, and Edgar Degas. In 1859, he settled in England but stayed in close touch with his Parisian friends. His style was independent of realism and of those such as John Ruskin who thought art should have a moral purpose. To many his paintings were a mystery because they seemed dreamy, abstract, and somewhat ghost-like. For some of his works, he chose musical titles to remove them from narrative context. Ruskin accused him of doing paintings that were like "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face," and the two faced each other in court when Whistler sued Ruskin for damages. Whistler won the lawsuit but was awarded only one farthing, which left him financially broke and bitter. However, he gained a lot of attention and positive recognition. Courtesy: AskArt
  • Creator:
    James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1859
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 9.88 in (25.1 cm)Width: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
    This impression printed on a fine laid tissue that has been backed for support. There are two small repairs to the paper, outside of the plate mark and visible only from the verso.
  • Gallery Location:
    Fairlawn, OH
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: FA93981stDibs: LU14013121812

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The Draped Figure, Seated
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The Draped Figure, Seated Lithograph on fine japanese paper, 1893 Signed in pencil with the butterfly (see photo) Signed in the stone with the butterfly on the sofa (see photo) Numbered: "No. 20" in pencil Printed by Thomas Way, London A beautiful impression with tonal variations in the stump work (shading) As published in: L'Estampe Originale, Paris, 1893, Album IV Edition: 107 impressions, this No. 20 There were an additonal 24 impressions printed by Way for Whistler and 20 impressions printed for the Fine Art Society, London Lacking the huge support sheet and embossed series stamp by Charpentier With the letterpress lower left: "T. Way. Imp London" The stone erased in 1904 The majority of the lifetime impressions are in public collections Condition: Excellent condition Hinges from original issuance of L'Estampe Originale verso at top as described in Spink Three hinges residue along right edge of the sheet from a later matting of the print Image size: 8 1/4 x 6 3/8 inches Sheet size: 11 3/8 x 9 1/16 inches Reference: Spink/Tadeschi 72, published edition Levy 74 Way 46 A superb Neoclassical lithograph...
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Portrait of a Man Facing Left
By William Merritt Chase
Located in Fairlawn, OH
Portrait of a Man Facing Left Monotype printed in brown ink, c. 1880-1914 Signed in ink lower left: Chase (see photo) Provenance: Helen Chase Storm (the artist's daughter) Jackson Chase Storm (her son) Chapellier Galleries (as agent) James Bergquist, Boston References And Exhibitions: Exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, MA. (See MFA paperwork in photos) Reference: Ronald G. Pisano, Completed by D. Frederick Baker and Carolyn K. Lane, William Merritt Chase: Still Lifes, Interiors, Figures, Copies of Old Masters, and Drawings, Catalogue Raisonne, Vol. IV (New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2010), Vol. 1, M. 8. (See photos of entry) William Merritt Chase (1840-2016) Born in Nineveh, Indiana Died New York, New York In 1883 Chase was involved in the organization of an exhibition to help raise funds for a pedestal for the Statute of Liberty. The exhibition featured loans of three works by Manet and urban scenes by the Italian Impressionist Giuseppe de Nittis. Both artists influenced Chase's Impressionistic style that gave rise to a series of New York park scenes. It is also thought that he was influenced by John Singer Sargent's In the Luxembourg Gardens (1879) which was exhibited in New York at this time. Indeed, Chase had met Sargent in Europe in 1881, the two men becoming lifelong friends with Sargent painting Chase's portrait in 1902. On another European trip in 1885, Chase met James McNeill Whistler in London. While Whistler had a reputation for being difficult, the two artists got along famously and agreed to paint one another's portrait. Eventually, however, Whistler's moods began to grate with Chase who wrote home stating "I really begin to feel that I never will get away from here". For his part, Whistler criticized Chase's finished portrait and, according to Hirshler, "complained about Chase for the rest of his life". While no record exists of Whistler's portrait of Chase; Chase's portrait of Whistler remains a well-known piece in his oeuvre. In 1887 Chase married Alice Gerson, the daughter of the manager of a lithography company. Though some fifteen years his junior (Chase was 37), he had known Alice for some time through her family's devotion to the arts. The pair, who would enjoy a happy marriage with Alice in full support of her husband's career, settled initially in Brooklyn...
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