Old Battersea Bridge, No. 2 |  Art Institute of Chicago (1917.494) | |
| Number: | 275 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching and drypoint | |
| Size: | 128 x 178 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at right | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 2 | |
| Known impressions: | 4 | |
| Catalogues: | K.311; M.305; W.225 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (4) | ||
PUBLICATION
Old Battersea Bridge, No. 2 was not published.
EXHIBITIONS
An impression was for sale in an exhibition at H. Wunderlich & Co. in New York in 1898. 11 Impressions were lent both by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) (
) and Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) () to the exhibition organised by the Caxton Club, Chicago, in 1900. 12
After Whistler's death, one was shown at the Grolier Club in New York in 1904, and, in London, Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) lent one to the Whistler Memorial exhibition in 1905 (). 13
) and Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) () to the exhibition organised by the Caxton Club, Chicago, in 1900. 12 After Whistler's death, one was shown at the Grolier Club in New York in 1904, and, in London, Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) lent one to the Whistler Memorial exhibition in 1905 (
). 13 11: New York 1898 (cat. no. 204). See REFERENCES: EXHIBITIONS.
12: Chicago 1900 (cat. nos. 195 and 195a).
13: New York 1904a (cat. no. 237); London Mem. 1905 (cat. no. 225).
SALES & COLLECTORS
On 21 December 1887, and again on 11 February 1888 Whistler sold impressions of what he called 'Old Battersea No. 3' to the London print dealer Thomas M. McLean (b. ca 1832) for £10.10.0. 14 Walter Dowdeswell (1858-1929) also bought impressions at this price. 15 However, it is not entirely certain that these sales refer to Old Battersea Bridge, No. 2.
Sales to Wunderlich's of New York followed at £10.10.0 and then £12.12.0, and to the Fine Art Society, London, in 1889, for some reason at half price, at £6.6.0. 16 Again it is not absolutely certain these all refer to the same etching
Whistler's prices were much higher than the only one recorded in his lifetime at auction, on 3 March 1892 at Sotheby's (lot 324), when an impression from the collection of the late Joshua Hutchinson Hutchinson (ca 1829 - d.1891) was bought by another print dealer Robert Dunthorne (b. ca 1851) for £3.10.0.
Whistler's prices were much higher than the only one recorded in his lifetime at auction, on 3 March 1892 at Sotheby's (lot 324), when an impression from the collection of the late Joshua Hutchinson Hutchinson (ca 1829 - d.1891) was bought by another print dealer Robert Dunthorne (b. ca 1851) for £3.10.0.
Good, rare impressions gravitated to major public collections. One impression was bought by Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) (); this passed to Clarence Buckingham (1855-1913) and thence to the Art Institute of Chicago. Another was bequeathed to the same institution by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) (). Two were bought by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) in 1906 (, ) from Messrs Obach & Co. and were bequeathed to the Freer Gallery of Art.
); this passed to Clarence Buckingham (1855-1913) and thence to the Art Institute of Chicago. Another was bequeathed to the same institution by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) (). Two were bought by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) in 1906 (, ) from Messrs Obach & Co. and were bequeathed to the Freer Gallery of Art.