Rotherhithe (K 66 III/III) from The Thames Set

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Rotherhithe (K 66 III/III) from The Thames Set

Artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834-1903)

Date1860

DimensionsSheet: 16 × 11 in. (40.6 × 27.9 cm)
Image: 10 3/4 × 7 7/8 in. (27.3 × 20 cm)

MediumEtching and drypoint

ClassificationPrints

Credit LineGrace J. Hitchcock Collection

Object number

1981.220

Not on View

DescriptionJames Abbott McNeill Whistler American, 1834–1903 Rotherhithe Etching and drypoint, 1860 Grace J. Hitchcock Collection, 1981.220 Whistler spent extended periods of time on the Thames in an inn near the Wapping steamboat pier during the spring and summer of 1860. “On the Thames Whistler worked tremendously … not caring to have people about or let anyone else see too much of his methods.” One of the prints on which he “worked tremendously” was Rotherhithe. “It was made on the balcony of the Angel Inn at Rotherhithe, looking northwest toward the city, with the dome of St. Paul’s visible on the horizon at the far left.” This print owes a great deal to Japanese woodblock compositions (see examples in this exhibition). The large figures, the strong vertical that divides the space asymmetrically, and the very low horizon all speak to the spatial qualities of Japanese art.

Label TextWhistler spent extended periods of time on the Thames in an inn near the Wapping steamboat pier during the spring and summer of 1860. “On the Thames Whistler worked tremendously … not caring to have people about or let anyone else see too much of his methods.” One of the prints on which he “worked tremendously” was Rotherhithe. “It was made on the balcony of the Angel Inn at Rotherhithe, looking northwest toward the city, with the dome of St. Paul’s visible on the horizon at the far left.” This print owes a great deal to Japanese woodblock compositions (see examples in this exhibition). The large figures, the strong vertical that divides the space asymmetrically, and the very low horizon all speak to the spatial qualities of Japanese art.Exhibition HistoryTMA The Painter Was a Printmaker: June 23 - Sept. 9, 1984. TMA, Whistler: Influences, Friends, and the Not-So-Friendly, Feb. 26 - May 30, 2010.

Toledo Museum of Art, Prints and Authors from the Time of Manet, September 13, 2012-January 13, 2013.