The Lime-Burner (W. Jones, Lime-Burner, Thames Street)

James McNeill Whistler

1859 · Etching and drypoint, warm black ink on ivory wove paper; first state of two (Glasgow) · Drawings and Prints

As he had in La Marchande de moutarde in 1858, Whistler here focuses on a humble business and uses the architecture to frame a receding interior. The proprietor, William Jones, leans against a barrel in his yard, near artfully arranged ladders. At left, a long passageway ends in a glimpse of the water of East London Wharf. Limeburners reduced chalk and limestone in kilns to produce a key ingredient for mortar and plaster. Whistler included this print in A Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames and Other Subjects (the "Thames Set") in 1871.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1859

Medium

Etching and drypoint, warm black ink on ivory wove paper; first state of two (Glasgow)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917