James Abbott McNeill Whistler
The Kitchen

Public Domain

ExpandFavorite

Artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)American, 1834–1903

CultureAmerican

Titles

The Kitchen
from Douze eaux-fortes d'après nature (the French Set)

Date1858

MediumEtching and drypoint in black ink with foul biting and plate tone on cream Asian paper, state II/III

DimensionsPlate: 8 15/16 × 6 3/16 in. (22.7 × 15.7 cm)
Sheet: 12 3/8 × 8 1/4 in. (31.4 × 20.9 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Art + Paper 2024

Object number2023.482

Not on view

Explore Further

Department

Prints and Drawings

Object Type

PRINTS

ProvenanceThe artist, 1858; collection of Howard Mansfield (1849-1938) [1]; collection of Harris G. Whittemore (1865-1927) [2]; by descent to a member of the Whittemore family; [Susan Schulman Printseller LLC, New York, to 2023]; purchased by MFAH, 2023.

[1] Born in Hamden, Connecticut, Howard Mansfield studied at Yale and was admitted to the bar in 1874. He authored the well-known catalogue of Whistler’s etchings published in 1909 and owned a superb collection of the artist’s intaglio and lithographic works. Mansfield enjoyed a personal relationship with Whistler, often accompanying him on work-related excursions and benefiting from Whistler’s counsel on the matter of which prints to acquire. In 1919, working through the intermediary A. A. Hahlo & Co., Mansfield sold his Whistler collection to Harris G. Whittemore of Naugatuck, Connecticut, for a price said to be between $300,000 and $350,000.

[2] After amassing a large fortune in the iron industry, Harris G. Whittemore became one of the major buyers of graphic art, especially during the period between 1920 and 1930. Notable aspects of his collection include works by Rembrandt, van Dijck, Whistler, Degas, and Meyron.
Exhibition HistoryNone known for this impression
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Recto: Signed and inscribed in printed ink, in plate, center bottom edge: Whistler. / Imp. Delatre Rue St. Jacques 171
Recto: Inscribed in graphite, below plate, bottom right corner: 13
Verso: Titled in graphite, center bottom edge: The Kitchen [cursive]
Verso: Inscribed in graphite, bottom left corner: 3/-/-

Recto: Signed in printed ink, in plate, center bottom edge: Whistler. [print]

Verso: Collector's mark of Harris G. Whittemore in black ink, bottom left corner [see Provenance]
Verso: Collector's mark of Howard Mansfield in blue ink, bottom right corner [see Provenance]

Catalogue raisonnéGlasgow 16 II/III

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Discover More

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Needlework

1896

Transfer lithograph, drawn on transfer paper with a grained-stone texture, printed in black ink on cream laid paper, state I/I, lifetime edition of 15

2017.421