JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER PRINTS

[41] J.H. Woods Fruit Shop, Chelsea,
1887–88
Etching and drypoint, signed in pencil with a butterfly and
inscribed imp. on the tab, signed again on the verso with the
butterfly and numbered 1, printed in dark-brown ink on laid
paper, watermark partial arms of Amsterdam (cf. Spink/Stratis/
Tedeschi, watermark nos. 12ff.); trimmed by the artist at the
platemark leaving a signature tab; in the second state (of four)
3 3/4 x 5 1/8 inches (96 x 13.2 cm)
Reference: Kennedy 265; Glasgow 327
After Whistler’s return from Venice at the end of
1880, the streets and houses of London again became
the subjects of many of his paintings and etchings.
Among his streetscapes of the city, sometimes made
in Chelsea where he lived as well in less salubrious
parts of town, the artist produced a large number
showing rows of shopfronts, a subject that had clearly
fascinated him since he had made Fruit Stall in Venice in
1879–80 (g.225). His views of them often share the same
characteristics: unposed figures going about their daily
business; the facades set parallel to the picture plane; and
an asymmetrical imbalance in the overall composition
that creates a certain visual movement and counters the
spatial parallelism. The modest scale and delicate, fluid
handling of his etched vignettes like this one reflect not
only the artist’s admiration for Rembrandt’s etchings,
as Lochnan notes, but also Whistler’s habit of carrying
around small grounded copper plates in his pocket and
using them to jot down impressions of the urban scene
on the spot as if recording them in pencil in a sketchbook
(p.223).
According to the Glasgow catalogue, Joseph Henry
Wood had a greengrocer’s shop at 1 Park Walk (off the
Fulham Road) in Chelsea in 1887 and moved to nearby
391 Fulham Road the following year. Since Whistler is
thought to have made the print in either 1887 or 1888, it
is not clear which of the two locations he depicted here.
This plate was never published. Impressions are of
utmost rarity. The Glasgow catalogue has not been able
to trace more than four impressions in public collections
(plus two whose whereabouts are unknown). Our print
must be added to this small number.
60 london and the thames