Bird-Cages, Chelsea |  Art Institute of Chicago (1937.172) | |
| Number: | 297 | |
| Date: | 1887 | |
| Medium: | etching and drypoint | |
| Size: | 153 x 230 mm | |
| Signed: | butterfly at upper left | |
| Inscribed: | no | |
| Set/Publication: | no | |
| No. of States: | 2 | |
| Known impressions: | 8 | |
| Catalogues: | K.276; M.271 | |
| Impressions taken from this plate (8) | ||
Bird-Cages, Chelsea probably dates from 1887. The scene includes a poster announcing 'AMBER', referring to the play The Amber Heart by Alfred Cecil Calmour (1857-1912). It opened at the Lyceum Theatre on 10 May 1887. 1
The butterfly signature is consistent with a date of about 1887. However, the etching could date from early in the following year and was first sold in July 1888. 2
Whistler's wife-to-be, Beatrice Whistler (1857-1896) - they were married in August 1888 - was an artist and designer, and many of her designs incorporate birds and cages. 3 It is possible that Whistler's interest in the subject was aroused by her and not just by the complex geometrical shapes of the cages against a rectangular façade.
The butterfly signature is consistent with a date of about 1887. However, the etching could date from early in the following year and was first sold in July 1888. 2
Whistler's wife-to-be, Beatrice Whistler (1857-1896) - they were married in August 1888 - was an artist and designer, and many of her designs incorporate birds and cages. 3 It is possible that Whistler's interest in the subject was aroused by her and not just by the complex geometrical shapes of the cages against a rectangular façade.
1: 'Lyceum Theatre', The Times, 8 June 1887, p. 9.
2: Whistler to R. F. Knoedler, 27 July 1888, GUW #13660.
3: Glasgow 1997, pp. 26-30, cat. nos.8-14, 53-55.