Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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M.1443
Lyme Regis lithographs

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1895
Collection: Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.
Accession Number: FGA 160
Medium: pen and black ink
Support: cream laid paper with watermark "NETHERCOURT/ FINE
Size: 8 13/16" x 7 1/16" (224 x 179 mm)
Signature: butterfly on letter
Inscription: 'No. 1. "The Good Shoe". No. 2. "The Sunny Smithy." No. 3. "The Master Smith". No. 4. "Father and Son" No. 5 "The Strong Arm" No. 6. The Little Doorway" No. 7. The Smiths Yard.'

Lyme Regis lithographs

Composition

Lyme Regis lithographs, Freer Gallery of Art
Lyme Regis lithographs, Freer Gallery of Art
Father and Son, Lithograph, C123, Hunterian, GLAHA 49407
Father and Son, Lithograph, C123, Hunterian, GLAHA 49407
The Master Smith, Lithograph, C120, Hunterian, GLAHA 49603
The Master Smith, Lithograph, C120, Hunterian, GLAHA 49603

These are drawings of Whistler's Lyme Regis lithographs. The little drawings are remarkably accurate. They show The Good Shoe c122, The Sunny Smithy c121, The Master Smith c120, Father and Son c123, The Strong Arm c125, The Little Doorway, Lyme Regis c119 and The Smith's Yard c124.

Conservation History

Originally 224 x 179 mm (8 13/16 x 7 1/16"); now two sheets each 113 x 179 mm (4 7/16 x 7 1/16"). The letter was started on the left half of a folded sheet, with the drawing on the right sheet. The two halves have been separated down the middle, to left of the drawings. Tissue paper has been laid down on both sides of each sheet, to protect it, but unfortunately obscuring the image. There are pinholes in the corners, probably dating from the reproduction of the drawing by Way in 1912.

Last updated: 6th March 2021 by Margaret