Bird Shop-Seven Dials
Terms of Use
Usage Conditions ApplyAt A Glance
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Period
ca. 1886-1888 -
Geography
United States -
Material
Etching; ink on paper -
Dimension
H x W: 13.4 x 9.7 cm (5 1/4 x 3 13/16 in) -
Accession Number
F1903.159 -
EDAN ID
edanmdm:fsg_F1903.159
Object Details
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Artist
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) -
Label
In his Dictionary of London (1879), Charles Dickens, Jr. described a bird market located in Seven Dials, where seven streets still meet in what was once (but is no longer) “one of the poorest districts in London.” Dickens called the area “the abode of bird-fanciers. Every variety of pigeon, fowl, and rabbit can be found here, together with rare birds, such as hawks and owls, parrots, love-birds, and other species native and foreign.” Whistler offers viewers a scene of fowl on view for both visual and literal consumption.Whistler etchings are identified by "G" numbers as assigned in "James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné," by Margaret F. McDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock (University of Glasgow, 2012), http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk. This print is G384 state 1 of 1. -
Provenance
Cox Collection [1]To 1903Obach & Co., London, to 1903 [2]From 1903 to 1919Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Obach & Co. in 1903 [3]From 1920Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]Notes:[1] See Freer Gallery of Art Purchase List file, Collections Management Office.[2] See Original Whistler List, Etchings, Voucher No. 1, July 11- November 1903, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.[3] See note 2.[4] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery. -
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art Collection -
Exhibition History
Whistler: Streetscapes, Urban Change (November 18, 2023 to May 4, 2024) -
Previous custodian or owner
Cox CollectionObach & Co. (1884-1911) (C.L. Freer source)Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919) -
Origin
United States -
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer -
Type
Print -
Restrictions and Rights
Usage Conditions Apply
There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.
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