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The Swan and the Iris

Artist James McNeill Whistler American, 1834 - 1903

Date1883-84

MediumEtching on laid paper

DimensionsPlate mark: 5 5/16 x 3 1/4 in.
Sheet: 7 11/16 x 5 1/2 in. (19.5 x 14 cm)
Matboard: 12 x 10 in. (30.5 x 25.4 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineBequest to The Murray Collection in memory of Terry A. Murray

Object number2010.5.9

On View

Not on view

Collections

Works on Paper

SignedNot signed, no monogram. See Notes, Whistler made the image after a painting by Cecil Lawson for a memorial volume published at Lawson's death. He may not have signed the work because the original image was not his.

InscribedLR of the sheet, outside plate, in pencil: " 25-"; LL of the sheet, outside plate, in pencil: "Swan & Iris" in modern hand On the printed label (see Marks) on frame backing, written in pencil, cursive: "Original Etching./Title- Swan and Iris,/ By/ J. McNeill (sic) Whistler: 1834-1903"

MarkingsLabel on frame backing: "CLAYTON-LIBERATORE/Art Studio/167 East 37th STREET/NEW YORK 16, NY/LExington 2-5486" and in small italics in the upper right of the label "Paintings-Drawings-Etchings/Custom Picture Framing/Restoring-Gilding". See "Inscriptions"

DescriptionIris plant in the foreground along the shore that sweeps in a left-handed arc to the background. Just beyond the plant a swan raises its neck and bill upward while spreading its wings. In the center background a boat is beached on the open shoreline, beyond it are what appear to be 2 or 3 boats with furled sails; however, the sails are only slightly different from the surrounding trees and the boat hulls are hardly delineated so it is difficult to be certain. A low building with trees around it sits to the left just beyond the beach.

A shaded arc in the upper left provides a frame for the image. The structure is said to be the "old Battersea Bridge." (See Notes)

Exhibition HistoryWest Meets East: Prints from the Permanent Collection, Wood Gallery, The Hyde Collection, November 4, 2018 - December 30, 2018

"What's New? Recent Acquisitions 2008-2010", Hoopes Gallery, The Hyde Collection, March 3 - May 29, 2011.ProvenanceCollection of Jane S. Murray, New York, NY; by bequest to The Hyde Collection 2009.