Etching and drypoint printed on old Dutch laid paper, 1875
In the mid 1870s Whistler returned to making etchings of the Thames after a period of visiting the family of his patron F. R. Leyland, at Speke Hall near Liverpool. These sometimes lacked the concision of his earlier Thames views, and in this case there is no compensating evocation of atmosphere. This is partly due to the coarse printing. The plate had passed into the hands of Charles Augustus Howell, who helped Whistler during his gathering financial crisis in the late 1870s. Howell sold it to Dowdeswells’, who in turn announced its publication in a numbered edition of 30 in January 1880, while Whistler was away in Venice (the plate was then destroyed). This impression is numbered in graphite No. 23.
Given by G. J. F. Knowles 1954
Collections record: P.286-1954
