UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

It was published by Messrs Dowdeswell and Alphonse Wyatt Thibaudeau (ca 1840- d.1892) with the 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

It was exhibited as 'Bead Stringers' at the Fine Art Society in London in 1883. Whistler's catalogue entry quoted an earlier undated and delightfully vague press notice: " 'Impressionistes,' and of these the various schools are represented by Mr Whistler, Mr Spencer Stanhope, Mr Walter Crane, and Mr Strudwick." 10 The italics are Whistler's and he added a printed comment in the margin, 'Et voilà comme on Ecrit l'histoire.' (And that is how they write history). This may suggest that Whistler considered Bead Stringers as the antithesis of any form of Impressionism, or that he could not really be associated with any particular movement or group.

An impression was also included in the American version of the F.A.S. exhibition by H. Wunderlich & Co. in New York in 1883. 11 It struck a chord with art critic of the New York Mail and Express, who gave a somewhat sentimental, subjective description of it, and indignantly countered early criticisms of Whistler's work:

Impressions were shown in later exhibitions at Wunderlich's, in 1898 and 1903, and by Obach & Co. in London in 1903. An impression was lent by Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) to the exhibition organised by the Caxton Club in Chicago in 1900 (either , or ). 13 An impression from the collection of James Cox-Cox (ca 1849- d.1901) starred in the International Exhibition in Glasgow in 1901. 14

After Whistler's death impressions were exhibited in the comprehensive Memorial exhibitions in Boston , New York, Paris and London. Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) lent one to the Whistler Memorial show in London in 1905. 15

'The bead Stringers' is mentioned in a sale made by Whistler to the Fine Art Society in 1884 where it sold for £5.5.0. At a Christie's auction in 1888 it brought only £0.10.0, and at the sale of the important collection of the late Joshua Hutchinson Hutchinson (ca 1829 - d.1891) in 1892, a late impression of 'Bed-Stringers' (sic) was bought by Thomas Way (1837-1915) for £2.2.0 (). Way then sold it to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) in 1902. 16 In 1902, another - earlier - impression was sold by Whistler direct to Freer, for £8.8.0 (), and one was sold by the artist to the London print dealer Robert Dunthorne (b. ca 1851) for £12.12.0. 17 Either Whistler was a better salesman than the auction houses, or he kept the finer and rarer proofs for sale. Freer had already bought an impression of an earlier state from Frederick Keppel (1845-1912) of F. Keppel & Co. in 1887 () - being keen to have impressions of the several very different versions of the composition.

From 1886 most impressions were sold by Messrs Dowdeswell and Thibaudeau with the 'Second Venice Set'. Dowdeswell's gave a set including an impression of Bead Stringers to the British Museum in 1887 () and Arthur Haythorne Studd (1863-1919) bequeathed an early and later impression to the Museum in 1929 (, ). Thibaudeau sold a set for £52.10.0 through Gustave Lauser (b. ca 1841) to H. Wunderlich & Co. in May 1888, and it was bought by Isabella Stewart Gardner (1840-1924) in 1890 ().

Other early American collectors included George Aloysius Lucas (1824-1909) (); Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904) (); Charles Deering (1852-1927) (); Harry Brisbane Dick (1855-1916) (); Walter Stanton Brewster (1872-1954) (, ); Harris G. Whittemore (d. ca 1937) and Emma Regina Martin (1921-2009) ().