The Barber's

c. 1886/1888

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image shows a street view with storefronts. Details of the shop window, figures, and architectural elements are depicted in fine lines. A streetlamp is also visible. The artwork is rendered in sepia tones, giving it an antique feel.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and drypoint in dark brown on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (trimmed to plate): 16.5 × 24 cm (6 1/2 × 9 7/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8582

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    MacDonald 2012, no. 263, state i/ii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Sold by Whistler to Wunderlich's, New York, 27 March 1889. (Knoedler & Co., New York.) Purchased November 10, 1928 by Lessing Julius Rosenwald [1891-1971], Philadelphia; gift to National Gallery of Art, 1943.  

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1931

  • Etchings, Lithographs, Original Drawings, and Autograph Letters by James A. McNeill Whistler, The Free Library of Philadelphia, 1931.

Bibliography

1910

  • Kennedy, Edward G. The Etched Work of Whistler. New York: Grolier Club, 1910, no. 271.

2012

  • MacDonald, Margaret F., Grischka Petri, Joanna Meacock.James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné. University of Glasgow on-line website at http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk. University of Glasgow, 2012, no. 263, state i/ii.

Inscriptions

on plate: (butterfly); on windows at left: HAIR CUTTING & SHAVING; on newspaper placards below these windows: FRED CARLOS; on doors at left: CUT / D3, HAIR / CUT / D2 (the 'D' in each case superscript); on tab: (butterfly) imp; onverso, by Whistler lower right: Chosen proof; possibly by Whistler, at lower left: No. 16

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q65021999

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