Art Institute of Chicago

Study

James McNeill Whistler

Date

1878

Medium

Lithograph in black ink with scraping and roulette work on ivory plate paper

Culture

United States

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

American by birth, Whistler had been living in London for almost two decades when he took up the medium of lithography. Here, in his first lithograph, Whistler returned to the subject of his 1873 etching. He depicted Maud in a similar pose, with her characteristic flounced dress and elaborate hat, but this time exploited the qualities of a different medium. He suggested the figure and shadows behind her in soft, greasy lithographic crayon, achieving a range of tonal effects that were not possible with etched lines.

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