Allie Copeland,
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - William Morris Hunt Memorial Library
Whistler in Paris, London and Venice:
With
this research guide I will strive to provide complete and current information
on James McNeill Whistler, as well as how he fits into the art scene in 19th
century Paris, London and Venice. This research guide is intended for use by
docents for an exhibition titled Whistler
in Paris, London and Venice put together by the Yale University Art Gallery
and on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
“This exhibition-the first at the Gallery dedicated to James
Abbott McNeill Whistler-examines one of the most celebrated artists of the 19th
century through the lens of three of his earliest and most innovative sets of
etchings, the so-called French, Thames,
and Venice Sets. Each set is representative of an important
period in Whistler’s life: as a student in Paris, absorbing the lessons of his
Realist contemporaries and the Old Masters; as an emerging artist in London,
forging a name for himself as an etcher; and as a well-known artist and teacher
in Venice.”
The
first resource I would recommend, and the best place to start your research, is
the exhibition page on the Yale University Art Gallery’s website (URL above).
In the absence of an exhibition catalog, this should be the first resource to
look at, because it contains a description of the exhibition as well as images
from a selection of objects from the show. The images themselves should also be
considered as a resource for study, as they are in the public domain and
available for large full-size download (URL below).
More Online Materials:
The University of Glasgow has put together a
digital catalogue raisonné of Whistler’s etchings that is aptly named the
“Whistler Etchings Project.” This site is full of great resources, including
digital images of the complete French, Thames, and Venice sets of etchings. You
can browse and search the catalogue raisonné for specific collections, sets,
subjects, places and more, so if you are interested in studying more of
Whistler’s prints, this is the place to go.
The
University of Glasgow also has put together an online database of Whistler’s
personal correspondence, which they have transcribed and translated where
appropriate. If you are a researcher that prefers primary source material, and
wants to read some of Whistler’s writings that were not originally intended for
publication, this site will make your research much easier. This collection and
the previous are both part of a larger Whistler archive (URL below)
http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/specialcollections/collectionsa-z/whistlerarchive/
The
Archives of American Art also has a Whistler collection, some of which is
digitized here. Unfortunately, these letters have not been transcribed, and
Whistler does not have very legible handwriting. One nice thing about this
online resource is that it provides links and information on related archival
collections that might not come up in a basic search for Whistler’s
correspondence, though most of these collections have not been digitized and
microfilm needs to be requested via interlibrary loan.
Print Materials: (All are available at the MFA libraries, or
through ILL from local libraries)
Whistler: A
Life for Art's Sake, by Daniel E. Sutherland (2014).
Available through the BPL
This biography is the most recently published
resource pertaining to Whistler’s life; it focuses of Whistler’s cultural and
artistic significance as well as his personal life. According to the
publisher’s description, this biography is the first to use private
correspondence from the artist, and it includes illustrations and images of Whistler’s
work. Knowledge about the artist’s life and personality can aid in research and
interpretation of his work, and it is an aspect of the show that visitors will
most likely want to know more about.
Distinguished Images: Prints in
the visual economy of nineteenth-century France, by Stephan Bann (2013).
NE647.3
.B365 2013
This resource is included for
further research on the development of printmaking in nineteenth century
France, the time period and place in which Whistler was working to create the
Paris series of prints in the exhibition. To understand these prints, it is
useful to get a full picture of the market and what other artists were doing in
this time and place, so that you can fully see how Whistler fits in, and what
his work looked like towards the beginning of his career.
An American in London: Whistler
and the Thames by Margaret
F. MacDonald and Patricia de Montfort (2013).
N6537.W4 M33 2013
Because this exhibition focuses on three
different eras of Whistler’s work by showing sets of etchings from distinct
locations, this exhibition catalog from a show that focuses on just one of
those eras, will give a more in-depth look at a broader range of Whistler’s
work from that time. This exhibition includes paintings and drawings as well as
prints, and gives a detailed look at both Whistler’s process and the same
subject featured in our exhibition, the Thames. This catalog will also give
information on Whistler’s stylistic change from French Realism to Aestheticism,
which is vital to understanding his artistic evolution.
Palaces in the Night: Whistler in
Venice, by Margaret F. MacDonald (2001).
ND237.W6 M32 2001
This catalog of Whistler’s Venetian work is
included for the same purpose as the previous resource, except that it gives an
in-depth look at Whistler in Venice. Because the Venetian works are the latest
group, they show Whistler’s complete transformation, and this catalog contains
120 illustrations to aid your understanding of the work.
Whistler’s Venice, by Alastair
Grieve (2000).
N6537.W4 G75 2000
This resource will provide additional
criticism and interpretation of Whistler in Venice. Combined with the plethora
of illustrations from the previous resource, this book will create a complete
picture of that era in Whistler’s work.
Copper Into Gold: Whistler
and 19th-century Printmaking by Peter Black (2003).
Available through the BPL
This
exhibition catalog from a show at the Hunterian Art Gallery in Glasgow will
provide good information on Whistler’s printmaking in general. The Hunterian
has a large and important collection of Whistler’s works, so this catalog could
have some great illustrations.
Other Resources:
James McNeill Whistler: The Case for Beauty directed by Karen Thomas (2014).
Available through the BPL
This PBS documentary could fill in some gaps
and perhaps give a good overview of the artist’s life and work for those who
are more visually inclined learners. The documentary was made in association
with the Freer Gallery and the Smithsonian and pulls from many different
resources and techniques to tell Whistler’s story.
James McNeill Whistler
- Vertical file at the MFA Main Library
You may already know that the museum library
maintains files on exemplary artists that contain print materials such as
auction catalogs and other resources specific to one artist. Vertical files are
for in-library use only, but they can be a useful resource for materials that would not be cataloged individually.
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