Whistler, James Abbott MacNeil. Eagle Wharf. 1859. $3,500.00

“Eagle Wharf”

One of sixteen etchings Whistler created in his Thames Set and one of several etchings that he made of wharves along Wapping High Street. These often include depictions of local workers or inhabitants placed prominently in the foreground. Whistler sometimes referred to this plate by the title 'Tyzack Whiteley' as the name of the firm Tyzack, Whiteley, & Co. is clearly visible on a building on the left. According to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge website, “The firm was listed in the 1859 London Directory as 'patent windglass, chain cable and anchor makers' at 266-7 Wapping High Street; at 268 was 'William Brown, sail maker.”

Etching and drypoint printed on handmade wove paper.
Crisp early strike. Identified as “Proof” when sold by M. Knoedler & Co., New York.
Signed in plate.
8 ¾ x 11 3/8 inch, sheet.
5 ¾ x 8 3/8 inch, plate.
4 old small repairs of tack holes in extremes of 4 corners well outside plate mark.
Kennedy 41