Etchings Institutions search term: obach
Whistler with a hat | ||
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) |
KEYWORD
TITLE
'James A Whistler' (1861, V&A). 1
'Paris - Whistler - by himself -' (1870s, Whistler). 2
'James Abbott MacNeill Whistler' (1874, Ralph Thomas, Jr (1840-1876)). 3
'Portrait of James Abbott McNeill Whistler' (1874, James Anderson Rose (1819-1890)). 4
'Whistler, with a large hat' (1881, Union League Club). 5
'Whistler' (1886, Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921)). 6
'votre portrait dit au grand chapeau' (trans., 'your portrait ... with the big hat') (1887, Edmond Gosselin (1849-1917)). 7
'Whistler ... Hat on' (1890/1892, Beatrice Whistler (1857-1896)). 8
'Whistler's Portrait' (1901, Glasgow). 9
'Whistler in the hat' (1903/1935, possibly Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958)). 10
'Portrait of Whistler' (1910, Kennedy) . 11
'Whistler with a hat' (2009, Whistler Etching Project).
The earliest title, 'James A Whistler' was probably provided by Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910) when selling the drypoint to the Victoria & Albert Museum. At that time it was certainly accurate, given that the artist was christened 'James Abbott Whistler'. Ralph Thomas's title reflects a later version of his name, which appears in certain legal documents from 1866 onwards. After his mother's death in 1881, the artist signed himself 'James McNeill Whistler'.
Avoiding the complexities of baptismal and adopted names, several writers focussed on the broad-brimmed hat worn by the artist. The preferred title, 'Whistler with a hat' distinguishes this portrait from other self-portraits.
1: 1 January 1861, V&A Register of Prints, p. 32.
3: Thomas 1874 (cat. no. 65).
4: Liverpool 1874 (cat. no. 471).
5: New York 1881 (cat. no. 73).
6: Wedmore 1886 A (cat. no. 52).
7: Gosselin to Whistler, 22 October 1887, GUW #01768
8: List, [1890/1892], #12715.
9: Glasgow 1901 (cat. no. 230).
10: Envelope containing copper plate, Hunterian Art Gallery.
11: Kennedy 1910 (cat. no. 54).
DESCRIPTION
SITTER