18. James Abbot McNeill Whistler
(1834-1903)

Wheelwright

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Whistler, Wheelwright

Wheelwright

Etching, 1879-80, 126 x 176 mm., Kennedy 233 v/v, from 26 Etchings of Venice (2nd Venice Set). This small plate, one of Whistler's few indoor subjects of the time, shows him once more returning to workshops as intriguing subjects. Depth is produced by alternating dark and light, but even objects and figures are defined more by light and shadow than by line. The etched butterfly signature creeps into the composition as just another bit of matter on the shed floor. Fine impression on thin, Dutch laid paper, signed in pencil on the tab and signed again verso with the number 3 from an edition of 30. Though included in the 2nd Venice Set, the scene is almost certainly not Venetia but an English workshop.