The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.0574.
Study for 'The Little Forge' (G.141)
Date
Study for 'The Little Forge' (G.141) dates from 1875 and was apparently given to William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916) and family.
Study for 'The Little Forge' (G.141), British Museum
It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 574).
Images
Study for 'The Little Forge' (G.141), British Museum
The Little Forge, Liverpool (G141 I), touched proof, New York Public Library, Avery Collection
The Little Forge, Liverpool (G141 VII), Freer Gallery of Art
Subject
Site
Study for 'The Little Forge' (G.141), British Museum
The city of Liverpool, England.
The Pennells incorrectly stated that it was drawn in Corsica in 1901 and was with Knoedler, New York dealers in 1921, but Knoedler's have no record of it. 1
Technique
Composition
Study for 'The Little Forge' (G.141), British Museum
The Little Forge (G141 I), touched proof, New York Public Library, Avery Collection
The Little Forge (G141 VII), Freer Gallery of Art
This is a study for the drypoint The Little Forge, Liverpool [141]. The image is reversed in printing. Reproduced here is an early touched proof and a later, seventh state of the drypoint.
Conservation History
It was drawn on a heavy weight paper, similar to that used for Study for 'The Blue Girl: Portrait of Miss Elinor Leyland' m0519, which is on the same page in the Alexander album. Both may have been cut from a single sheet, possibly in a sketchbook.
History
Provenance
- 1870s: probably given by Whistler to William Cleverly Alexander (1840-1916), London;
- 1916: bequeathed to Rachel Alexander (1875-1964) and Jean Ingelow Alexander (1877-1972);
- 1958: given to the British Museum.
Exhibitions
It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 574) as "Study for 'The Little Forge' (K147)".
Books on Whistler
- Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, repr. f.p. 206 as 'The Forge'.
Websites
- Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2012, online website (drypoint, G.141).
Notes:
1: Pennell 1921C [more], repr. f.p. 206 as 'The Forge'.