James McNeill Whistler
Old Putney Bridge1879

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 1

Etching of a timber bridge spanning a river, with figures on the deck and small rowboats below, rendered in fine brown lines on cream paper

Artist or Maker: James McNeill Whistler
United States, 1834-1903
Title: Old Putney Bridge
Place Made: United States
Date Made: 1879
Medium: Etching and drypoint
Dimensions: 7 15/16 x 11 5/8 in. (20.16 x 29.53 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of The Julius and Anita Zelman Collection
Accession Number: AC1992.234.9
Classification: Prints
Collecting Area: Prints and Drawings
Curatorial Notes: Among Whistler’s favorite subjects was the riverscape along the Thames. Here, he captured a section of the river fronting the massive wood piers of the “Old Putney,” more properly the Fulham Bridge, constructed in 1729. People and conveyances cross the bridge, and a long skiff glides along the river below. Whistler deftly inked the shadowed areas of the structure and the dense trees in the distance. Together, these elements create a rich panoply blending stasis and action, light and shadow, line and tone. In the lower left corner, the outlines of a flat-bottomed boat and two figures are rendered with a minimal application of ink, guiding our eye to the more intricately executed bridge and landscape in the distance. The protruding prow of another boat in the foreground implies the position from which the artist likely sat to capture this view. In 1886, a few years after this print was made, the Old Putney was replaced by a granite bridge that still stands today.

Claudine Dixon

2024
Selected Bibliography: Fine, Ruth E. Drawing Near: Whistler Etchings from the Zelman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1984.

James McNeill Whistler
Old Putney Bridge1879

On view:

Geffen Galleries, floor 1

Artist or Maker: James McNeill Whistler
United States, 1834-1903
Title: Old Putney Bridge
Place Made: United States
Date Made: 1879
Medium: Etching and drypoint
Dimensions: 7 15/16 x 11 5/8 in. (20.16 x 29.53 cm)
Credit Line: Gift of The Julius and Anita Zelman Collection
Accession Number: AC1992.234.9
Classification: Prints
Collecting Area: Prints and Drawings
Curatorial Notes: Among Whistler’s favorite subjects was the riverscape along the Thames. Here, he captured a section of the river fronting the massive wood piers of the “Old Putney,” more properly the Fulham Bridge, constructed in 1729. People and conveyances cross the bridge, and a long skiff glides along the river below. Whistler deftly inked the shadowed areas of the structure and the dense trees in the distance. Together, these elements create a rich panoply blending stasis and action, light and shadow, line and tone. In the lower left corner, the outlines of a flat-bottomed boat and two figures are rendered with a minimal application of ink, guiding our eye to the more intricately executed bridge and landscape in the distance. The protruding prow of another boat in the foreground implies the position from which the artist likely sat to capture this view. In 1886, a few years after this print was made, the Old Putney was replaced by a granite bridge that still stands today.

Claudine Dixon

2024
Selected Bibliography: Fine, Ruth E. Drawing Near: Whistler Etchings from the Zelman Collection. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1984.