The Riva, No. 1

Maker(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
1879-1880
Medium
Copper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 20.1 x 29.7 cm (7 15/16 x 11 11/16 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection
Accession Number
F1892.15
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Tool and Equipment
Type

Printing plate/block

Keywords
United States
Provenance

1892
Max Williams Co., New York to 1892 [1]

From 1892 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Max Williams Co. in 1892 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Whistler List, Plates, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Max Williams Co. (C.L. Freer source)
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Whistler's contract with the Fine Art Society required him to produce one hundred impressions of each of twelve prints. He did not make all twelve hundred impressions at once, but printed them in batches as they sold. Since the society sold the prints separately as well as in sets, Whistler completed printing the more popular images first. When he finished printing an image, Whistler "canceled" the plate by defacing it. He finished printing The Riva, No. 1 by mid-June 1892, when he sent the canceled plate to the society. For an example of the print, see F1893.92.


Whistler etchings are identified by "K" numbers as assigned in Edward Kennedy's catalogue, The Etched Work of Whistler, (New York: Grolier Club, 1910; and subsequent editions). This print is K192; canceled copper plate.

Published References
  • Howard Mansfield. A Descriptive Catalogue of the Etchings and Dry-points of James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Chicago, 1909. .
  • Katharine Lochnan. The Etchings of James McNeill Whistler. Exh. cat. New Haven and London, 1984. .
  • Edward G. Kennedy. The Etched Work of Whistler: Illustrated by Reproductions in Collotype of the Different States of the Plates. 4 vols., New York, 1910. .
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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