Etching and drypoint printed in dark brownish black on antique, cream laid paper, circa 1879. 201x300 mm; 8x11 7/8 inches, full margins. MacDonald's seventh state (of 7), with the shaded butterfly in the plate lower center and with the additional row of ripples in the water lower right.
An early impression, signed with the large, shaded butterfly and inscribed "imp" in pencil, lower right. Large coat-of-arms watermark. A brilliant, richly-inked and early impression, with very strong contrasts, with crisp, inky plate edges, with all the details distinct and with burr on the bridge piers; similar in quality to the impression in the Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C.
Whistler (1834-1903) began work on this plate, among his largest and most ambitious Thames etchings, in March 1879, while facing bankruptcy stemming from overspending on the design of his London home ("White House" in Chelsea) and his libel trial with the art critic John Ruskin. He almost certainly looked to recoup these financial losses with the publication of larger, more notable etchings in the late 1870s, ultimately accepting a commission from the Fine Art Society, London, in July 1879, to go to Venice and return by December with a set of 12 etched views of the Italian city which they would in turn publish and exhibit (see lots 28 and 29).
During his lifetime, Whistler was highly praised for his etchings and was considered by print connoisseurs to rival Rembrandt in the mastery of the medium. His technique was meticulous and deliberate; he diligently reworked plates until he was completely satisfied with an impression. When printing, he took great care applying ink to the plate and carefully selected various papers for the quality in which they held the ink. Of the 490 etchings Whistler produced over his 50 year career, Old Putney Bridge represents one of his longest-running endeavors, with some 7 states spanning nearly a decade of work (1879-1889). Kennedy 178; Glasgow 185.
