Rag Shop, St Martin's Lane

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Label

  Whistler did not need one of John Thomson’s photographs accompanied by a four-page narrative to depict economic hardship in this rare etching, one of three recorded. He simply included the tiny word “rag” on one of the windowpanes. His image offers a selective glimpse of the street where William Hogarth, his favorite English artist, once studied. The image’s title associated his work with Hogarth’s early-career London scenes that Whistler greatly admired.

  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 G328 state 1 of 1.

• Provenance

  To 1904

  Rosalind Birnie-Philip (1873-1958), London, to 1904 [1]

  From 1904 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), received from Rosalind Birnie-Philip in 1904 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Whistler List, Etchings, pg. 108, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] 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

  Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) (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, Birnie Philip, Rosalind

• Place

  United States

• Topic

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

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Prints