JAMES ABBOTT MCNEILL WHISTLER (AMERICAN/1834-1903) PORTRAIT OF 'ARTHUR HADEN' (1869) ORIGINAL BLACK & WHITE DRYPOINT ETCHING, IN PERIOD, THIN-PROFILE WOOD FRAME, W/ORIGINAL BROWN PAPER DUST COVER & NEW YORK CITY PICTURE FRAMER'S LABEL AFFIXED TO THE BACK
(Dated 1869)
Figurative printmaking masterworks by the 19th century American master
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
*SPECIAL NOTE:
(*Inspected out of frame. The plate has the same measurements of the same drypoint etching of the same subject 'Arthur Haden' found in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City and in the collection of the Boston Public Library in Boston, Massachusetts. It is an authentic, original drypoint etching by James Abbott McNeill Whistler and is signed and dated 1869 in the pictorial field on the plate. The print appears to have had its margins cut back and trimmed at some previous point in time and there is no pencil signature present or Whistler's characteristic butterfly hieroglyphic motif found along the lower margin of the print. The print was float mounted in the middle of miter-cut mat board and is properly hinged at the top of the print to the mat backing board. The print paper is largely free of foxing, mildew, stains, tanning, significant yellowing, tears, punctures or other damage. To the best of my knowledge and after viewing the work out of frame, the quality of the printing is irrefutably an original, period, mid-19th century artist's drypoint etching and not a later, contemporary 20th century facsimile print, such as a high-quality collotype or other variety of later, more contemporary copies of the original, artist's drypoint etching.)
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:
BORN: Lowell, Massachusetts, United States of America in 1834
DIED: London, United Kingdom in 1903
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American artist, active during the American Gilded Age and was based and worked primarily in the United Kingdom for nearly the entirety of his professional adult life. He was antagonistic to and averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, and was a leading proponent of the heretical motto: 'art for art's sake,' which sought to destroy and lay waste to the prevailing paradigm and ruling aesthetic of academic art, which Whistler believed was a confining, stifling force, more suited for animals in cages, than for real artists. He lived in Russia as a young child, where he father was a railroad engineer, employed by none other than the Czar of Russia, Nicholas I. Whistler then later moved to Paris, France and then on to London, United Kingdom, where he lived, worked and where he eventually died at the age of 69. He is the founder of the movement in painting referred to as 'Tonalism.' He had several lovers and was nearly a perpetual figure in the news, period gossip columns and in the courtroom as well, having become personally embroiled in contractual snafus and protracted legal tussles with art critics and art patrons, who he believed slighted him, even in the slightest of ways. He was an incendiary, mercurial, larger-than-life figure, caustic and even a meglomaniacal historical figure, nearly sucking the air out of a room with the sheer power of his personality and presence. He was a social butterfly and really what Andy Warhol could only dream of, the self-commodification of 'artist as rock star.' James Abbott McNeill Whistler was the artistic rock star of his time and there is simply no other American artist who could even come close to rivaling him. When people didn't ordinarily talk about artists, they talked about James Abbott McNeill Whistler and couldn't seem to stop doing so.
DIMENSIONS:
PLATE: 8 ⅞" Height x 6" Width
(*Plate dimensions are correct and in concert with the established plate dimensions of the same image found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC and in the Boston Public Library in Boston, Massachusetts. This drypoint etching of Arthur Haden by James Abbott McNeil Whistler being offered, was inspected out of frame and was carefully measured to determine if its measurements were the same as and consistent with other plates found in various other important American collections.)
FRAME: 18 ¼" Height x 14 ¼" Width
DESCRIPTION:
It's a great, special honor and a tremendous privilege, as both an artist, art collector and dealer of fine art, to have the opportunity to be able to handle and offer the work of such an important, exciting, nationally and internationally recognized and universally well-known artist and an American master, who almost single-handedly, changed the entire critical landscape of American painting, James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Just discovered in southern New Hampshire, it remained undisturbed and for all intents and purposes unnoticed and was in the same estate for many years and only very recently, came out into the light of day, with the owner incredibly, not being able to identify the artist, to my great fortune and the fortune of the potential buyer and next custodian of this immeasurably important print by undoubtedly one of the United State's most important artists of any period, James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Considering the same exact drypoint etching of the young boy seated for his portrait by Whistler, Arthur Haden, was the son of one of Whistler's most important artistic benefactors and well-heeled, patrician patrons at that time, the American physician and Whistler's brother-in-law Doctor Francis Haden (who had purchased and commissioned several other prints and paintings by Whistler, including the drypoint etching of his daughter and sister of Arthur Haden, Abbie Haden) is in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, as well as in the permanent collection of the Boston Public Library in Boston, Massachusetts, this would have to be considered to be a very important work indeed by Whistler and one that represents his absolute mastery of the printmaking medium and drypoint etching, in particular. Whistler was a master draughtsman and this work, in which he fluidly and nearly effortlessly captured the adolescent Arthur Haden and the carefree attitude of youthful disinterest, inherited aristocracy and class privilege, that his father's professional success afforded him, even at such a young age, clearly illustrates Whistler's artistic powers. Original, authentic and simply an incredible discovery. James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American master. The work is under glass and in the early 20th century, original, period, dark stained wood frame it was found in and with the original, blue and white period picture framer's label 'Wilson's Artistic Frames, 39 Vesey Street, New York, NY,' still affixed to the back brown paper dust cover. It's most likely that the drypoint etching was reframed at some later date, such as the 1920's in this period, thin-profile wood frame presentation. An extraordinary discovery by an extraordinary American artist, who is not just simply an artist but an immortal artistic American legend, who was always larger than life itself and one of the most important American artists who has ever lived (and that would not be an overstatement.) It is truly a privilege and a tremendous honor to be able to offer for sale, this rare work by such an important American artist, as is James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Serious inquiries only please.
CONDITION:
Very Good to Excellent overall vintage condition.
(*Please scroll down the page to view enlarged photos below. Thank you.)
