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Nursemaid and Child |  National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC (1943.3.8421) | |
| Number: | 42 | |
| Date: | 1859 | |
| Medium: | etching and drypoint | |
| Size: | 99 x 134 mm | |
| Signed: | 'Whistler' at lower left | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 2 | |
| Known impressions: | 35 | |
| Catalogues: | K.37; M.36; T.21; W.34 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (35) | ||
STATE
Two states are known.
State 1
Signed 'Whistler' at lower left.
The composition is complete. The woman's nose is straight, and she is frowning.
Some impressions are more fully inked, which obscures and enriches the lines, as in the example below.
State 2
The woman's face and hair are redrawn; her nose is retroussé and her mouth is slightly smiling; her hair is combed back and straggling hairs fall over her temple and cheek; the dress is darkened and the stripes shaded with crossed lines; the child's hair is slightly reinforced in drypoint.