James McNeill Whistler: Etchings

Whistler was born in America and started drawing classes at the Imperial Academy of Fine Art in St. Petersburg, before moving to Paris in 1855 to further his studies. His highly influential and individual style was inspired by many sources, including Japanese art and ancient Greek sculpture, and he was a leader in the Aesthetic Movement, promoting and writing on the “art for art’s sake” philosophy. Making prints was central to Whistler’s art. The first of his works accepted for exhibition at the Paris Salon and the Royal Academy were not paintings but etchings: the young artist came to see printmaking as the avenue to fame and success.

At The Fine Art Society, Whistler staged his sensational show Arrangement in White and Yellow in 1883 which was to affect exhibition design so radically that his principles still guide curators today, more than 140 years later. Earlier, The Fine Art Society's commission to produce a set of etchings in Venice had reinvigorated Whistler's artistic output. When his career was in ruins in the aftermath of the Ruskin trial and his bankruptcy, it was our commission to make prints which brought him back to public notice. He was equally a pioneer in the print market, and began work on a signed, limited edition of his Venice etchings in 1880, the prototype for print publishing of the future.

This exhibition includes 22 etchings from a single owner collection, bringing together examples of the artist's etchings and drypoints from his French, Thames and Venice sets. It seems fitting to present the work of an artist so entwined with our early success to coincide with our 150th anniversary.