James Abbott McNeill Whistler

THE MEDICI COLLAR

1897

Whistler, James A. M. THE LITTLE COURT CLOTH FAIR. Spink 22. Lithograph, 1887. A lifetime impression, one of 12 printed by Way and signed in pencil with the Butterfly. Printed on Ivory colored wove paper without watermark. The sheet 11 9/16 x 6 inches. In very good condition with slight discoloration from the mat in the areas outside the mat window. Provenance: Collection of Otto Gerstenberg (see below) with his collectors stamp, Lugt 2785, the Secretary Montag's "M" and the inventory numbers 61248 KO5182 all on the verso; Horizon Gallery, Rockport, MA, with its label and annotations on the frame backing. Framed. Very rare. The following are translations from the entry on Gerstenberg in Lugt: Lugt 1921: O. GERSTENBERG (born 1848), director of the Insurance Company "Victoria", lives in Berlin. Old and modern prints. Otto Gerstenberg, born in Pyritz, studied mathematics and philosophy at the University of Berlin. After having been employed at the Prussian Statistical Office, in 1873 he entered the insurance company "Victoria" in Berlin as a mathematician-calculator, and became its director in 1888. He developed it in the following years and brought it up. to its present importance. Around 1900 he began to collect prints of which he now has a very large cabinet; as elders especially Schongauer, Dürer and Rembrandt, then Lucas de Leyde, Hirschvogel, van Dijck, Ostade and the French portrait painters. As modern it is necessary to point out, among the Germans »Greiner, Klinger, Leibl, Liebermann, Menzel, Stauffer-Bern; among the French, Corot, Daumier, Degas, Forain, Lepère, Manet, Meryon, Toulouse-Lautrec; among the English, Bone, Dodd, Goff, Haden, Strang; then an important work by Whistler and Goya and leaves by Rops and Zorn. Also has beautiful paintings. Lugt 1956: During the 1914-1918 war, the collectort had his collection transported to Switzerland and, when the war was over, he decided, quite reluctantly, to sell it. In the spring of 1922 the sale was concluded in Zurich with the merchants Gust. Mayer, of Colnaghi & C ° of London, and Mr. A. MacDonald, then a partner of Harlow & C ° of New York, who bought the set at a price corresponding roughly to the total prices paid by Gerstenberg. This was a large sum, because he had acquired several of his finest pieces in the big sales between 1900 and 1914 against the big enthusiasts of the time such as Morgan, Gutmann, Rothschild etc. It was Gaiser, of the firm H. G. Gutekunst in Stuttgart, who had generally carried out his orders in the sales. MacDonald believed he had a buyer for the set in America, but when the collection arrived there those hopes were dashed by a change in economic conditions. He then sold the parts separately. We will get an idea of ​​the importance of this collection by the following enumeration of the most beautiful pieces: among the Dürer, the Adam and Eve (from the Buccleuch and Hubert collections), the Saint-Eustache, the Mélancolie (from the collection Behaim, Dumesnil and Scholtz), the Knight of Death (from the Barnard and Hubert collections) and the Life of the Virgin series (from the St. Aubin collection); Dürer's work was almost complete. Quite remarkable was the Rembrandts' series, in which we note the Piece aux cent florins, sur Japon (collection Weber and Hubert), the Three Crosses, 1st state and 2nd state (collection Artaria and Hubert), the Little Tomb ( coll. John Wilson) and another proof on Japan, Death of the Virgin in Irstate (Josi coll.), St. Jerome, B. 103, unstead (Josi, Aylesford, Buccleuch and Hawkins coll.), the St. François (coll. Theobald); the series of portraits by Rembrandt was superb: Rembrandt himself drawing, B. 22, Ir état (from the Worlidge, Brit. Mus., Dighton and Theobald collections) and the same in the second state on Japan (Morrison collection), all the states of Clement de Jonghe, Jan Asselijn, Irtat (Josi, Aylesford, Buccleuch and Hubert coll.), old Haaring, 2nd state (same sources) and the young, 2nd state in Japan (Brodhurst and Lanna collection) , the Lutma in 1st state on japan (Josi, Aylesford, Baccleuch and Hubert collection) and a superb 2nd state (from the Firmin-Didot and Hubert collections), the Six in 3rd state (Ploos van Amstel collection); in landscapes: the three Trees (coll. Theobald), the three Chaumières (coll. Morgan and Lesecq des Tournelles), the Landscape with the tower, Ir état (coll. Aylesford, Holford and Hubert), the Campagne du peseur d ' gold, on Japan (Barnard, Holford and Theobald collection) and a State of Landscape with the drinking cow, on Japan (Theobald collection). Then a series of 51 Schongauer, including several of the first order, 8 of Hirschvogel, the portraits by van Dijck himself in first states (except D. 10 and 15, the most beautiful of the collection Theobald), beautiful series by Claude and van Ostade. The purchase included neither the important modern prints that Gerstenberg owned, nor his beautiful prints by Goya, nor a few drawings by the latter and Rembrandt. Gerstenberg was an enthusiastic collector who passionately loved his collection. When in 1922 the buyers announced their decision to acquire his old prints at the agreed price, he could not contain his tears. He later consoled himself by developing his series of watercolors and drawings of the French school of the nineteenth century, and he managed to own a magnificent set of Delacroix, Daumier, Degas, Monet and, in general, the Impressionists. . We do not know, at the present time, what happened to this part of his collection, but it is feared that part of it was lost or destroyed in the offices of the insurance company "Victoria" in Berlin or in its property in Silesia during the Russian invasion in 1945. The Toulouse-Lautrec which had been evacuated to Denmark were sold out of court after the war from 1939 to 1945. Gertstenberg died ,very old in 1935. The mark reproduced by us in L.2785 has rarely been used, but the origin of the prints is more easily recognized by the initial M, followed by a number (see L.1840c...

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...

Whistler, James A. M. DRURY LANE RAGS. Way 21. lithograph, 1888. Edition of only 15. Signed with the butterfly in pencil, and also in the image. Printed on Japan paper. With Rosalind Birnie Philip's square-sha[ed collector's stamp, denoting a lifetime impression, lower left, verso. 6 x 6 1/2 inches (image), sheet: 12 x 8 inches (sheet) Framed to 24 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches. A brownish spot or stain near the center of the sheet, which may have been on the sheet at the time of printing, given Whistler's inclination to utilize old papers...

Whistler, James A. M. SAN BIAGIO. Etching and Drypoint, 1880. Glascow 237, K.197; M.194; W.163. State 8 of 17. With the printed butterfly at left, and with the butterfly signature in...

A very good impression of this extremely scarce drypoint. MacDonald's eleventh state "b" (of 11b), restored after cancellation.

Signed 'Whistler' lower left, titled 'Annie', center, and annotated 'Imp. Delâtre Rue St. Jacques. 171' in the plate lower right. From the portfolio: "Douze Eaux-Fortes d'après Natur...

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...

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...