UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

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Whistler with a hat

Impression: Hunterian Art Gallery
Hunterian Art Gallery
(46744)
Number: 44
Date: 1859
Medium: drypoint
Size: 229 x 154 mm
Signed: 'Whistler.' at lower right
Inscribed: '1859.' at lower right
Set/Publication: 'Cancelled Plates', 1879
No. of States: 3
Known impressions: 36
Catalogues: K.54; M.54; T.65; W.52
Impressions taken from this plate  (36)

TECHNIQUE

This is one of a number of drypoints, which are the first by Whistler in the medium, dating from 1859. Most are portraits, including Z. Astruc, Editor of 'L'Artiste' [36], Fumette's Bent Head [58], Finette [61], C. L. Drouet, Sculptor [35] and Arthur Haden [66].

PRINTING

There are at least twenty impressions on this drypoint, and there may have been as many again printed from the cancelled plate. The sole impression of the first state was printed in black ink with conspicuous, slightly irregular, burr (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540z03). An impression of the following state (State 1b) was printed in black ink on cream Japan and was given by Whistler to his mother (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540110). 14

The main print-run was fairly evenly divided between the two later states. Some impressions are in dark brown ink on both Japanese (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540107) and western laid (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540205) paper. However, it was usually printed in black ink, on laid western paper (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540111, Graphic with a link to impression #K0540206), a fine, light-weight laid paper (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540208), and on Asian paper (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540108, Graphic with a link to impression #K0540109).

14: After the Glasgow catalogue went online in 2012, a new state was discovered; the newly discovered state is State 1a, and the former State 1 is now State 1b.

The cancelled impressions were consistently printed in black ink on laid paper, sometimes with a watermark, Strasbourg Lily (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540307) or Van Gelder (Graphic with a link to impression #K0540309).