Etching printed on Japanese paper, 1857-8
One of the earliest etchings included in The French Set, featuring Whistler’s nine-year old niece, the daughter of his half-sister Deborah and her husband, the surgeon, etcher and collector Seymour Haden (1818-1910).
It was actually Haden who sketched the few lines outlining the lower legs on the plate as he did not approve of the way Whistler had finished the figure at the knees. After he fell out with Haden, Whistler annotated an impression of this print:
‘Legs not by me, but a fatuous addition by a general practitioner.’
Given by Mrs T. H. Riches 1923
Collections record: P.2071-R
