Art Institute of Chicago

Old Battersea Bridge

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1879

Medium

Etching and drypoint with foul biting in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper

Culture

United States

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This print reflects James McNeill Whistler's preservationist instincts along with his interest in picturesque London architecture. Battersea Bridge, within eyesight of Whistler's home in Chelsea and the subject of many of his most celebrated works, was closed to traffic in 1883 and eventually demolished in 1890. By depicting boats and pedestrians freely moving through a wood bridge that is abruptly cut off at the edges, Whistler infused the object with an elegance akin to that found in the works of Utagawa Hiroshige. As early as 1863, Whistler was an avid collector of Japanese objects, and he soon became the most prominent ambassador of japonisme between England and France.

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