The Title to the French Set

James McNeill Whistler|Sir Francis Seymour Haden

1858 · Etching, printed in black ink on tan chine on off-white wove paper (chine collé); only state (Glasgow) · Drawings and Prints

Whistler here depicts himself outdoors working on a copper plate surrounded by fascinated children. The image responds to a Rhineland tour he made in the summer and fall of 1858 and was used to introduce "Douze eau-fortes d'apres Nature" (Twelve Etchings from Nature), the artist's first published set. The title indicates his realist affinities with lettering added to credit Auguste Delâtre as printer and dedicating the work to Seymour Haden. As Whistler’s brother-in-law, the latter had encouraged his first serious etchings. Even when dressed in a loose traveling suit, the artist cuts a dashing figure, with romantically long hair and a beribboned hat.

Artist

James McNeill Whistler|Sir Francis Seymour Haden

Date

1858

Medium

Etching, printed in black ink on tan chine on off-white wove paper (chine collé); only state (Glasgow)

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

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