UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

Little Market Place, Tours

Impression: Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
(1934.586)
Number: 389
Date: 1888
Medium: etching and drypoint
Size: 128 x 178 mm
Signed: butterfly at right
Inscribed: no
Set/Publication: no
No. of States: 1
Known impressions: 5
Catalogues: K.375; M.375
Impressions taken from this plate  (5)

PUBLICATION

Little Market Place, Tours was not published, but it is closely related to the etchings in the 'Renaissance Set'.

EXHIBITIONS

It was first exhibited by H. Wunderlich & Co. in New York in 1898. One impression was lent by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) to the exhibition organised by the Caxton Club in Chicago in 1900 (Graphic with a link to impression #K3750102). 8

Impressions also appeared in the Memorial Exhibitions after Whistler's death, in the Grolier Club, New York and - lent by Howard Mansfield (1849-1938) (Graphic with a link to impression #K3750106) - in Boston in 1904, and finally in London in 1905. 9

8: Chicago 1900 (cat. no. 302); see REFERENCES: EXHIBITIONS.

9: New York 1904a (cat. no. 361); Boston 1904 (cat. no. 217); London Mem. 1905 (cat. no. 324).

SALES & COLLECTORS

The first sale was on 27 March 1889 when Whistler sold an impression to the Fine Art Society, London, for £6.6.0. 10

On 20 July 1889 he sold several etchings to Roland F. Knoedler (1856-1932) including 'Market Place - Tours' at £8.8.0 and 'Little Market Place - Tours' at £6.6.0. In the list of etchings, they are numbered '7' and '8' respectively. 11 One impression, bought by Howard Mansfield (1849-1938), and later by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919), is marked '(No 7)' on the verso (Graphic with a link to impression #K3750106); this may be a coincidence, it might reflect some indecision about whether the scene was Loches or Tours, or it might have come from some other numbered list of etchings.

10: Whistler to E.G. Brown, GUW #13000.

11: Whistler to Knoedler, GUW #13080.

Wunderlich's in New York also had an impression in 1902 (Graphic with a link to impression #K3750105). 12 This impression is now in Colby College, Maine. An impression owned by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) by 1900 went to the Art Institute of Chicago. (Graphic with a link to impression #K3750102). John Henry Wrenn (1841-1911) owned another (Graphic with a link to impression #K3750104), probably bought from Wunderlich's, which was later bought by the Library of Congress.

12: Stock number 'a 35756' on verso.