Fish Shop, Chelsea

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Edition/State

  2

• Label

  Fishmonger Elizabeth Maunder at 72 Cheyne Walk in London anchors this row of specialty shops. The daily catch is set out on an angled slab under the awning. Offering little indication that fish played a significant role in feeding London’s poor, Whistler chose this etching as a limited-edition lottery prize to raise funds for the Society of British Artists, an elite group the expatriate American artist had recently joined.

  Whistler etchings are identified by "G" numbers as assigned in "James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonn&‌eacute;," by Margaret F. McDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock (University of Glasgow, 2012), http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk. This print is G267 state 2 of 2.

• Provenance

  Edward G. Kennedy (1849-1932), New York [1]

  Howard Mansfield (1849-1938), New York [2]

  To 1903

  H. Wunderlich & Co., New York, NY, to 1903 [3]

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from H. Wunderlich & Co., through Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938), in 1903 [4]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]

  Notes:

  [1] An undated folder sheet note in the object file states "Two stamps on the back: E.G.K. enclosed in a rectangle (Kennedy stamp). H.M. within a circle (Mansfield stamp)" (see Curatorial Remark 2 in the object record). Note that in regard to the periods of ownership by Kennedy and Mansfield, the order of ownership, relative to each other, is not indicated.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] See Original Whistler List, Etchings, Voucher No. 10, March 1903, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [4] See note 3.

  [5] 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)

  Whistler in Watercolor (May 18 to November 3, 2019)

  Whistler's Neighborhood: Impressions of a Changing London (September 8, 2012 to September 8, 2013)

  Special Exhibition, Whistler Etchings and Lithographs (January 14, 1924 to February 18, 1924)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Edward G. Kennedy (1849-1932)

  Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)

  H. Wunderlich & Co. (1874-1912) (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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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1890s, 1870s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Kennedy, Edward G., H. Wunderlich & Co., Mansfield, Howard

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, Architecture, American Art, Fishes, Store front, Etching (printing process), Business

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Prints