Cocks and Hens, Hôtel Colbert

1891

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image shows a sketch displaying an architectural detail, potentially a building facade and a street scene from a low vantage point. The horizon is implied by the structure's base in the middle, vertically oriented with depth indication at ground level. Pencil strokes in an impressionistic style form the structure and details like a cart on the left and chickens to the right, creating a lively atmosphere. The grayscale palette on off-white background ensures focus on the sketch's lines without distractions. Faintly visible in the background are more structures blending with the surroundings. The sketch conveys a bustling everyday life scene with simplicity and dynamism.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    lithograph in black on wove paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    image: 19.8 × 14.4 cm (7 13/16 × 5 11/16 in.)
    sheet: 31.7 × 20.3 cm (12 1/2 × 8 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.8696

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Stratis & Tedeschi 1998, no. 42


Artwork history & notes

Provenance

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

1896

  • Way, Thomas Robert. Mr. Whistler's Lithographs: The Catalogue. London: G. Bell and Sons, 1896; New York: H. Wunderlich & Co., 1905, no. 36.

1998

  • Stratis, Harriet K., and Martha Tedeschi, eds. The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler, vol. 1. Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago, 1998, pp. 166-167, no. 42.

Wikidata ID

Q65022115

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