The Seamstress

c. 1884/1886

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image shows an etching of two women positioned partially in profile facing each other. One woman is standing while the other is seated and appears to be focused on some handiwork. The standing woman wears a large hat and a long-sleeved jacket or dress with vertical stripes, while the seated woman wears a long gown with horizontal stripes and is depicted holding some work in her hands. In the background, there is a table with vases or small vessels atop it, set in a sparsely decorated interior space.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and drypoint on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (trimmed to plate): 9.9 × 6.6 cm (3 7/8 × 2 5/8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8571

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    MacDonald 2012, no. 253, state i/iii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Joshua Hutchinson Hutchinson [c. 1829 - d. 1892], (Lugt 2921); (sold at Sotheby's, London, 3 March 1892, lot 309); bought by Russell, £0.18.0. Henry Harper Benedict [1844-1935], New York, ( Lugt 2936). (Knoedler & Co., New York). Bought by Lessing Julius Rosenwald [1891-1971], Philadelphia, (Lugt 1760b); 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. 252, i/ii.

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. 253, state i/iii.

Inscriptions

on plate: (butterfly); on tab: (butterfly) imp; on the verso: Kennedy number

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q65021987

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