First Venice Set: Nocturne
artist
James McNeill Whistler
(American, 1834 - 1903)
Date1879-1880
Place MadeItaly, Europe
MediumEtching and drypoint printed on laid paper
Dimensions19.9 x 29.4 cm (7 13/16 x 11 9/16 in.)
ClassificationsPrints
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession numberS.G.Sar.1.1.1.4
eMuseum ID720908
EmbARK ObjectID23867
TMS Source ID8675
Last Updated8/9/24
Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryIsabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.
BibliographyNotesThe Fine Art Society. Mr. Whistler's Etchings (London, 1883), no. 8.
Frederick Wedmore. Whistler's Etchings: a Study and a Catalogue (London, 1886), p. 66, no. 150.
James McNeill Whistler. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (London, 1890), p. 95.
Howard Mansfield. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings and Dry-Points of James Abbott McNeill Whistler (Chicago, 1909), pp. 115-16, no. 181.
Edward G. Kennedy. The Etched Work of Whistler (New York, 1910), p. 70, no. 184.
P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. An Exhibition of Etchings, Dry Points & Lithographs by James McNeill Whistler (London, 16 November - 10 December 1971). p. 28, no. 92.
Maragaret F. MacDonald. "Introduction" in M. Knoedler & Company, Inc.. Notes, Harmonies & Nocturnes. Exh. cat. (New York: M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., 1984), pp. 16, 68, no. 90.
Katharine A. Lochnan. The Etchings of James McNeill Whistler. Exh. cat. (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984; Toronto: The Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985), pp. 194-99, 281, no. 197.
Pierre Cabanne. Whistler (New York, 1985), p. 62, ill.
Margaret F. MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours, a Catalogue Raisonné (New Haven, 1995), pp. 314-15, no. 836r.
Carole McNamara and John Siewert. Whistler: Prosaic Views, Poetic Vision. Exh. cat. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1996), pp. 100-103, no. 39.
Martha Tedeschi and Britt Salvesen. Songs on Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography. Exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1998; Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1999), pp. 39, 43, fig. 29, no. 43.
Alastair Grieve. Whistler's Venice (New Haven, 2000), pp. 157-58, 189-90, 192, fig. 197.
Margaret F. MacDonald. Palaces in the Night: Whistler in Venice (Berkeley, 2001), pp. 69, 71, 77-79, 82, 82, 88, 92, 94, 128, pl. 94, 95.
Catherine E. Hutchina (ed.). Fleeting Impressions: Prints by James McNeill Whistler. Exh. cat. (Montgomery: Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 2006), pp. 17, 20, 85-86, no. 24.
Margaret F. MacDonald et al. "Nocturne." James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné (University of Glasgow, 2012), no. 222, accessed 12 May 2016. http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk/catalogue/
Frederick Wedmore. Whistler's Etchings: a Study and a Catalogue (London, 1886), p. 66, no. 150.
James McNeill Whistler. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (London, 1890), p. 95.
Howard Mansfield. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings and Dry-Points of James Abbott McNeill Whistler (Chicago, 1909), pp. 115-16, no. 181.
Edward G. Kennedy. The Etched Work of Whistler (New York, 1910), p. 70, no. 184.
P. & D. Colnaghi & Co. An Exhibition of Etchings, Dry Points & Lithographs by James McNeill Whistler (London, 16 November - 10 December 1971). p. 28, no. 92.
Maragaret F. MacDonald. "Introduction" in M. Knoedler & Company, Inc.. Notes, Harmonies & Nocturnes. Exh. cat. (New York: M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., 1984), pp. 16, 68, no. 90.
Katharine A. Lochnan. The Etchings of James McNeill Whistler. Exh. cat. (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1984; Toronto: The Art Gallery of Ontario, 1985), pp. 194-99, 281, no. 197.
Pierre Cabanne. Whistler (New York, 1985), p. 62, ill.
Margaret F. MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours, a Catalogue Raisonné (New Haven, 1995), pp. 314-15, no. 836r.
Carole McNamara and John Siewert. Whistler: Prosaic Views, Poetic Vision. Exh. cat. (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Museum of Art, 1996), pp. 100-103, no. 39.
Martha Tedeschi and Britt Salvesen. Songs on Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography. Exh. cat. (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1998; Ottawa: National Gallery of Canada, 1999), pp. 39, 43, fig. 29, no. 43.
Alastair Grieve. Whistler's Venice (New Haven, 2000), pp. 157-58, 189-90, 192, fig. 197.
Margaret F. MacDonald. Palaces in the Night: Whistler in Venice (Berkeley, 2001), pp. 69, 71, 77-79, 82, 82, 88, 92, 94, 128, pl. 94, 95.
Catherine E. Hutchina (ed.). Fleeting Impressions: Prints by James McNeill Whistler. Exh. cat. (Montgomery: Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, 2006), pp. 17, 20, 85-86, no. 24.
Margaret F. MacDonald et al. "Nocturne." James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné (University of Glasgow, 2012), no. 222, accessed 12 May 2016. http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk/catalogue/
MarksNotesSigned in pencil (on tab): Whistler's butterfly signature [dated 1888-1889]
Inscribed (on tab): "imp." [hand of Whistler]
Inscribed (verso): "specially chosen" [hand of Whistler]
Inscribed (on tab): "imp." [hand of Whistler]
Inscribed (verso): "specially chosen" [hand of Whistler]
ProvenanceNotesPossibly in the collection of the surgeon and etcher Francis Seymour Haden (1818-1910), by 1890.
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealers H. Wunderlich & Co., New York on 11 April 1890 for $750. (as part of "Whistler's two sets of Venice etchings")
Purchased by Isabella Stewart Gardner from the art dealers H. Wunderlich & Co., New York on 11 April 1890 for $750. (as part of "Whistler's two sets of Venice etchings")
