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)
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 viewCollections
- 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.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
1761-1764