Dipping the Flag |  Hunterian Art Gallery (46937) | |
| Number: | 308 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching and drypoint | |
| Size: | 82 x 178 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at lower left | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 4 | |
| Known impressions: | 10 | |
| Catalogues: | K.325; M.319; W.242 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (10) | ||
KEYWORD
bunting, ensign, flags, jubilee, naval review, sailing ship, sea, ship, warship.
TITLE
It was called 'Dipping the Flag' by Whistler and most later cataloguers, for example:
'Dipping the Flag' (1887, Whistler). 2
'The Pennant' (1890, possibly Charles James Whistler Hanson (1870-1935)). 3
'Dipping the Flag' (1899, Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921)). 4
The original title is definitely 'Dipping the Flag'. Dipping the flag was a sign of respect and symbol of obedience to Victoria, Queen of Great Britain. Dipping the flag involved lowering the flag to half-mast and back.
'Dipping the Flag' (1887, Whistler). 2
'The Pennant' (1890, possibly Charles James Whistler Hanson (1870-1935)). 3
'Dipping the Flag' (1899, Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921)). 4
The original title is definitely 'Dipping the Flag'. Dipping the flag was a sign of respect and symbol of obedience to Victoria, Queen of Great Britain. Dipping the flag involved lowering the flag to half-mast and back.
2: Whistler to T. McLean, 20 August 1887, GUW #13089.
3: Note on H. Mansfield to Whistler, 15 May 1890, and reply, GUW #03989.
4: Wedmore 1899 (cat. no. 242).
DESCRIPTION
In the left foreground is a pole with a fluttering flag, on the bow of a ship. A few waves are indicated on the sea. Along the horizon is a fleet of ships, with, to right of centre, a large warship.
SITE
At sea off Spithead on the south coast of England. The Times gave a full account of the Naval Review in the Solent. 5 Flags also decked the ships in the Review as a sign of general celebration, and this is seen in other Naval Review etchings, Bunting [304] and Her Majesty's Fleet: Evening [310].
5: 'The Jubilee Naval Review', The Times, London, 25 July 1887, p. 7.