James McNeill Whistler:
The Embroidered Curtain
At The Fine Art Society
18 October To 8 November 2007
The Fine Art Society will present an exhibition of works by James McNeill Whistler: The Embroidered Curtain in the gallery at 148 New Bond Street, London W1 from 18 October to 8 November 2007.
The 25 works will span Whistler’s career as a printmaker, which began 150 years ago in 1857. The show will include two of the rare Amsterdam prints of 1889. One of these, The Embroidered Curtain, is considered one of his greatest works. It shows the façade of a house by a canal, rendered in an abstracted pattern. The technique Whistler used for the Amsterdam etchings combines the detail found in the Thames etchings of 1859-60 and the atmospheric quality of the Venice prints of 1879-80.
Whistler made his mark as an etcher with four published sets of prints and the show includes works from the French Set (1857-58), the Thames set (1859-60) and the two Venice sets (1879-80). It also includes unpublished subjects such as The Dyer, one of the most evocative Venice etchings.
The Fine Art Society commissioned Whistler to go to Venice to make a series of etchings in 1879. The artist extended his stay from 3 to 14 months and produced a succession of masterworks, both in etching and pastel.
Whistler had four exhibitions at The Fine Art Society during his lifetime. One of these was Arrangement in White & Yellow, an exhibition of Whistler’s Venice etchings, held at 148 New Bond Street in 1883. The artist oversaw every aspect of the design which was to influence the way avant-garde art was presented into the 21st century.
He transformed the gallery by covering the walls in white felt and using white frames for the etchings. The skirting board and picture rail were painted bright yellow, there was yellow matting on the floor, yellow tiles in the fireplace, yellow curtains, couches and chairs. A yellow fabric ceiling diffused and coloured the light and the guard was dressed in white and yellow. The décor caused a sensation, but the hanging of the prints was equally revolutionary, widely spaced in a single row at eye-level.
The Fine Art Society continues to exhibit and deal in Whistler’s work, first exhibited at 148 New Bond Street over a century years ago. The show of his Venice prints at the gallery in 1883 has had a lasting effect on exhibition design and the etchings themselves remain one of Whistler’s greatest achievements. |
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Street at Saverne, 1858
Etching, 8 1/8 x 6 1/8 inches
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