Nocturne: Furnace |  Art Institute of Chicago (1934.596) | |
| Number: | 208 | |
| Date: | 1879/1880 | |
| Medium: | etching and drypoint | |
| Size: | 171 x 233 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at left | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | 'Second Venice Set', 1886 | |
| No. of States: | 12 | |
| Known impressions: | 46 | |
| Catalogues: | K.213; M.210; W.183 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (46) | ||
PUBLICATION
It was published by Messrs Dowdeswell and Alphonse Wyatt Thibaudeau (ca 1840- d.1892) with A Set of Twenty-six Etchings (the 'Second Venice Set') in 1886.
Whistler delivered in all 1093 prints and was paid £2.10.6 for printing each dozen prints. 9
9: Dowdeswell to Whistler, invoice 16 July 1887, GUW #00891.
EXHIBITIONS
Nocturne: Furnace was first exhibited at the Fine Art Society, London, in 1883. In the catalogue written and designed by Whistler this etching was twinned ironically with an earlier review from the Richmond Eagle, which reads, 'There is no moral element in his chiaroscuro.' 10 In using this quote, mocking the idea that 'morality' had any place in an image of a forge at night (however dramatic or atmospheric that scene might be) Whistler was reinforcing his aesthetic position as stated in 'The Red Rag' in 1878:
10: London FAS 1883 (cat. no. 44).
'Art should be independent of all clap-trap--should stand alone, and appeal to the artistic sense of eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism, and the like.' 11
11: The World, 22 May 1878.
Nocturne: Furnace was, on the whole, neglected by the critics in 1883. A dismissive comment in Bazaar read only 'nocturnes of Shipping, Dawn, Furnace, or Salute, are something more than disappointing.' 12 However, in October the New York Mail and Express called their readers' attention to 'the little figure ... of the man before the furnace, for which all the rest of the plate seems to be only a framing, ... how tenderly, how skilfully, how beautifully it is touched in!' 13
Furthermore, a brief exhibition of the 'Second Venice Set' at the Hogarth Club in 1887 inspired one art critic to write lyrically:
Furthermore, a brief exhibition of the 'Second Venice Set' at the Hogarth Club in 1887 inspired one art critic to write lyrically:
12: 'Fine Art', Mr Whistler's Exhibition', Bazaar, 28 February 1883 (GUL PC6/43).
13: 'The Whistler Exhibition,' New York Mail and Express, 24 October 1883 (GUL PC3/61).
'We should like to draw attention next to "San Biagio," "Furnace Nocturne," and the "Garden." These are all seen for the first time in their perfected condition, and they belong to the set which Messrs Dowdeswell are now publishing. ... In "Furnace Nocturne" the view is from a narrow canal, and that which is beheld is the effective glare and gloom of furnace and obscure water. One part of the little picture is shrouded in shadow; the other palpitates with light.' 14
14: Anon., 'Mr Whistler's Etchings', The Standard, London, 3 March 1887 (GUL PC7/18-19).
Print dealers' shows included H. Wunderlich & Co., New York in 1883, 1898, and 1903, Hogarth in London in 1887, Obach & Co., also in London, in 1903 and F. Keppel & Co., New York in 1902 and 1904. 15
An impression of Nocturne: Furnace was exhibited at a show organised by the Caxton Club in Chicago in 1900, lent by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) (
). 16 James Cox-Cox (ca 1849- d.1901) lent one to the Glasgow International of 1901. 17
After Whistler's death, impressions were shown in the Whistler Memorial Exhibitions, as many as four different states being shown at the Grolier Club in New York in 1904, one in Boston (lent by Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)) in 1904, and another in London in 1905. 18
An impression of Nocturne: Furnace was exhibited at a show organised by the Caxton Club in Chicago in 1900, lent by Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) (
). 16 James Cox-Cox (ca 1849- d.1901) lent one to the Glasgow International of 1901. 17 After Whistler's death, impressions were shown in the Whistler Memorial Exhibitions, as many as four different states being shown at the Grolier Club in New York in 1904, one in Boston (lent by Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)) in 1904, and another in London in 1905. 18
15: See REFERENCES: EXHIBITIONS.
16: Chicago 1900 (cat. no. 163).
17: Glasgow 1901 (cat. no. 219 ).
18: New York 1904a (cat. nos. 185a-d); Boston 1904 (cat. no. 144 ); London Mem. 1905 (cat. no. 182).
SALES & COLLECTORS
Whistler sold an impression on 28 August 1882 to the London print dealer, Thomas M. McLean (b. ca 1832) for £4.4.0. 19 He also sold two to the Fine Art Society on 6 March 1884 but the price is not specified. 20
However, most were sold through Messrs Dowdeswell and Alphonse Wyatt Thibaudeau (ca 1840- d.1892) as part of the 'Second Venice Set'. Dowdeswell's gave one set to the British Museum in 1887 (). Thibaudeau sold one with a set through Gustave Lauser (b. ca 1841) and H. Wunderlich & Co. to Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) in 1890 (). Dowdeswell's sold a seventh state to Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934), and this was sold though Colnaghi's and Knoedler's to Margaret Selkirk Watson Parker (1867-1936) (). Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) bought a heavily inked impression of the seventh state from F. Keppel & Co. in 1887 (); and a third state from Thomas Way (1837-1915) in 1905 ().
However, most were sold through Messrs Dowdeswell and Alphonse Wyatt Thibaudeau (ca 1840- d.1892) as part of the 'Second Venice Set'. Dowdeswell's gave one set to the British Museum in 1887 (
). Thibaudeau sold one with a set through Gustave Lauser (b. ca 1841) and H. Wunderlich & Co. to Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) in 1890 (). Dowdeswell's sold a seventh state to Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934), and this was sold though Colnaghi's and Knoedler's to Margaret Selkirk Watson Parker (1867-1936) (). Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) bought a heavily inked impression of the seventh state from F. Keppel & Co. in 1887 (); and a third state from Thomas Way (1837-1915) in 1905 (). At auction prices were consistently low. Gustave Lauser (b. ca 1841), for instance, bought one at Christie’s, 27 November 1888 (lot 182) for £1.10.0, and the London print dealer Robert Dunthorne (b. ca 1851) bought another from the collection of the late Joshua Hutchinson Hutchinson (ca 1829 - d.1891) at Sotheby's, 3 March 1892 (lot 278) for £1.3.0.
Whistler sold a few impressions (presumably proofs of different states), including one to the Fine Art Society, London, on 18 April 1893 for £5.5.0. 21 and one to H. Wunderlich and Co., New York, in 1898 for £6.6.0. 22 Finally he sold one on 24 December 1902 to Dunthorne for £12.12.0, reflecting the late and general increase in his prices. 23
Whistler sold a few impressions (presumably proofs of different states), including one to the Fine Art Society, London, on 18 April 1893 for £5.5.0. 21 and one to H. Wunderlich and Co., New York, in 1898 for £6.6.0. 22 Finally he sold one on 24 December 1902 to Dunthorne for £12.12.0, reflecting the late and general increase in his prices. 23
Impressions of several different states were in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) who left them to the University of Glagow (, , , ).
, , , ).Early collectors included Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) (); George Aloysius Lucas (1824-1909) (); Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) (); John Henry Wrenn (1841-1911) (); Wilson King (b. ca 1847) and his wife (); Clarence Buckingham (1855-1913) (); Harry Brisbane Dick (1855-1916) (); Herschel V. Jones (1861-1928) (); Albert Henry Wiggin (1868-1951) (); Francis Bullard (1862-1913) and Harris G. Whittemore (d. ca 1937) (); Walter Stanton Brewster (1872-1954) (, ); R. Woods Bliss (b. 1875) and Emma Regina Martin (1921-2009) (). Ernest Stephen Lumsden (1883-1968) acquired the unique proof printed by Salmon, and his wife later sold it to the National Gallery of Scotland ().
); George Aloysius Lucas (1824-1909) (); Bryan Lathrop (1844-1916) (); John Henry Wrenn (1841-1911) (); Wilson King (b. ca 1847) and his wife (); Clarence Buckingham (1855-1913) (); Harry Brisbane Dick (1855-1916) (); Herschel V. Jones (1861-1928) (); Albert Henry Wiggin (1868-1951) (); Francis Bullard (1862-1913) and Harris G. Whittemore (d. ca 1937) (); Walter Stanton Brewster (1872-1954) (, ); R. Woods Bliss (b. 1875) and Emma Regina Martin (1921-2009) (). Ernest Stephen Lumsden (1883-1968) acquired the unique proof printed by Salmon, and his wife later sold it to the National Gallery of Scotland ().