Petticoat Lane

c. 1886/1888

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image is an etching showing three figures - a woman and two children. The woman stands upright with one child beside her and the other seated slightly apart. The woman has her hair styled in a neat bun, while the children have short, tousled hair. They are wearing period-appropriate clothing. The woman appears to be holding a cloth or garment. The background includes a simple architectural element, possibly a window and door with crosshatched shading indicating shadows. The setting suggests an outdoor or courtyard environment with minimal detail.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching in dark brown on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (trimmed to plate): 9.4 × 13.3 cm (3 11/16 × 5 1/4 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8589

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    MacDonald 2012, no. 299, state i/ii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Henry Studdy Theobald [1847-1934], London, (Lugt 1376). Listed by E. G. Kennedy as Henry Harper Benedict [1844-1935], New York, 1910. (Knoedler & Co., New York). Bought November 26, 1929 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. 285, 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. 299, state i/ii.

Inscriptions

on plate: (butterfly); on tab: (butterfly) imp; lower left on verso: MK 32568; by later hands on the verso, lower centre: Wedmore number; lower right: 43

Watermarks

partial PRO PATRIA

Wikidata ID

Q65022006

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