St. James's Street

James McNeill Whistler

1878 · Etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on ivory laid paper; fourth state of four (Glasgow) · Drawings and Prints

Whistler's busy urban image focuses on a central London thoroughfare that connects Pall Mall and Piccadilly. The etching offers a view from the terrace of what was then the Albermarle Hotel on Piccadilly downhill towards St. James's Palace, a complex of Tudor buildings that gave the street and surrounding district their names. In the foreground a policeman stands, perhaps directing traffic, near awnings that shield shopfronts. The image reverses the orientation of the actual view and would be reissued as a lithograph—correctly oriented—in "Vanity Fair" on July 2, 1878 (see: 1985.1161.34). Today the street is home to several private clubs, including White's, Boodle's and Brooks's.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1878

Medium

Etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on ivory laid paper; fourth state of four (Glasgow)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917