UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

Wild West: The Orator was not published.

Either this or The Orator, Buffalo Bill 293 was first exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists in the winter of 1887-1888, towards the conclusion of Whistler's Presidency of the Society. The London Standard commented:

'Mr Whistler's latest studies with the etching needle divide themselves as to theme into four classes, one of them dealing with a pilastered house in Brussels, another with what Mr Whistler saw when he was a privileged spectator of her Majesty's fleet, a fourth with the arena of Buffalo Bill. Of all of these things there are vivacious and dexterous jottings.' 15

In the USA, impressions were shown in New York by H. Wunderlich & Co. in New York in 1898 and 1903 (). After Whistler's death, impressions were shown in the comprehensive exhibition at the Grolier Club, also in New York, in 1904. 16

Whistler sold three 'Wild West' subjects ('Wild West No. 1', The Orator, Buffalo Bill 293 and The Bucking Horse, Wild West 295) to the London print dealer Thomas M. McLean (b. ca 1832) on 17 November 1887. 'Wild West No. 1' was £10.10.0. 17 He offered them at the same prices to the Glasgow dealer William Craibe Angus (1830-1899) in December. 18

On 4 February 1888 Edward Guthrie Kennedy (1849-1932) asked: 'We have heard of your etching's [sic] of Buffalo Bill ... Can you put us in the way of procuring any of these?' His firm, H. Wunderlich & Co., had one in stock in 1897, valued at £6.6.0. 19 An impression () from the collection of Thomas Glen Arthur (1858-1907) was sold for $48 when his collection was acquired by Wunderlich's in 1902. 20 Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) bought another from Wunderlich's in 1903 ().

Two were in Whistler's studio at his death in 1903 and were inherited by his sister-in-law Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) (, ), and passed by her to the University of Glasgow.