Longshore Men

James McNeill Whistler

1859 · Etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on medium weight buff Japan paper; third state of four (Glasgow) · Drawings and Prints

When Whistler moved to London from Paris in 1859 he found lodgings in a wharf district below Tower Bridge. Commercial activity along the Thames, whose banks were densely lined with warehouses, became a frequent source of inspiration with this image centered on figures in a pub or "ordinary" (cheap restaurant) seated around long wooden tables. Longshore men did a variety of jobs along the river, most often unloading goods from ships and barges. The Met's two other impressions of this print are 17.3.38 and 17.21.72.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1859

Medium

Etching and drypoint, printed in black ink on medium weight buff Japan paper; third state of four (Glasgow)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of William Loring Andrews, 1883, transferred from the Library