Nocturne: Dance House

James McNeill Whistler American

Not on view

Densely etched and deeply inked, this work is among Whistler’s finest late etchings. The illuminated windows belong to a tenement that backs onto the Zeedijk canal in Amsterdam’s red-light district. As in his Venetian twilight subjects from the previous decade, Whistler focused on a confluence of water, crumbling architecture, and reflected light but here heightened the darkness and sense of abstraction. In 1890, the artist’s "Amsterdam Set" was exhibited by the dealer Robert Dunthorne in London, then in New York at the Grolier Club.

Nocturne: Dance House, James McNeill Whistler (American, Lowell, Massachusetts 1834–1903 London), Etching and drypoint, printed in dark brown ink on medium weight ivory laid paper; fourth state of six (Glasgow)

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