UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

The Guitar Player was not published.

An impression (possibly that reproduced above) was probably exhibited in the first show held by Walter Dowdeswell (1858-1929), who wrote:

'I hung the ... sky lighted end of our shop in Chancery Lane, and held what was probably the first exhibition of miscellaneous etchings by modern Artists that had ever been held in England - It was modest, but it included ... some beautiful new dry points by Whistler - "Battersea-Dawn" - "Oyster Smacks" "The Guitar Player" and some others, all of which I got from Mr. Huish who had them from Mr. Whistler.' 14

The drypoint was widely exhibited in public, private and commercial shows. An impression was lent by Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) to the Union League Club in New York in 1881, listed in the catalogue as ''The Guitar Player (Ridley) 1875', 'trial proof' (). 15

After this no exhibition is recorded until 1898, when it was exhibited in New York by H. Wunderlich & Co. in 1898. In 1900 Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) lent what he thought was a first state () to the exhibition organised by the Caxton Club in Chicago, and Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) lent his as a second state () - in both cases the etchings were of a later state. 16 Impressions were shown at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in 1902, lent by Howard Mansfield (1849-1938) (), and by H. Wunderlich & Co. in New York and Obach & Co. in London in 1903.

After Whistler's death, impressions were exhibited at the Memorial Exhibitions, including three states that were shown at the Grolier Club in 1904, one lent by Mansfield to the Whistler Memorial show in Boston in 1904 () and another lent by H.R.H. Princess Victoria to the London Memorial in 1905. 17

Whistler's first recorded sale may have been in 1875, when he sent eight etchings and drypoints including 'The Guitar player' priced at £6.6.0 to William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916). 18

Whistler printed several impressions in 1877 and for a while used a code to keep track of impressions. For instance:

Guitar Player 2 ' ' x . . . 19
Guitar Player No. 3 ' ' 20
Guitar player - (P C) 21

The code may be interpreted in different ways, but the most likely is that Whistler was noting the second impression sold, leaving three in stock, followed by the third, leaving two in stock. Alternatively he could meant the second of five printed, followed by the third of the same print run of five. 'X' could possibly mean one intended for exhibition, or be a mark of quality, and 'PC' might likewise be an indication of an impression selected for a particular buyer - it could possibly mean 'Private Collector'.

Whistler sent an impression to another private collector - Alfred Chapman (1839-1917) - in 1878, but again, it is not known if he kept it. 22

In 1877 Whistler sold several impressions at £10.10.0 each, to the Fine Art Society, London, Charles Augustus Howell (1840?-1890), the Royal Collection, Windsor Castle (), and to another print firm, Messrs Hogarth. 23 Messrs Dowdeswell also bought some impressions from the Fine Art Society and exhibited them in their new gallery.

Whistler later bought one back from Edmond Gosselin (1849-1917) on 9 May 1887 for 150fr. 24 It was offered by Whistler to the Glasgow art dealer William Craibe Angus (1830-1899) who queried the print: 'The Guitar Player. This impression has curious whitish lines running across the plate from under the arms to the feet - Kindly say if these lines are on all the impressions - .' 25 There is no record of Whistler's reply. However it is very likely that Craibe Angus kept the print because he had two local collectors who acquired impressions, Bernard Buchanan MacGeorge (1845?-1924) () - reproduced below - and Thomas Glen Arthur (1858-1907) ().

At the sale of the important collection of the late Joshua Hutchinson Hutchinson (ca 1829 - d.1891) in 1892 an impression was bought by Edmund F. Deprez (1851-1915) of Deprez & Gutekunst for £3.0.0 - clearly a lot less than Whistler was getting. 26

Other early collectors included Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) (); Francis Seymour Haden, Sr (1818-1910) (whose impression was sold through Wunderlich's to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) (); Howard Mansfield (1849-1938) (); and Frederick Keppel (1845-1912) (who sold another impression to Freer, in 1889) ().