Accession Number
1954/1.418

Title
The Tall Bridge

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1878

Medium & Support
lithotint with scraping, printed in black ink on white wove paper

Dimensions
14 in x 10 3/16 in (35.5 cm x 25.8 cm);14 in x 10 3/16 in (35.5 cm x 25.8 cm);22 1/16 in x 18 1/8 in (56 cm x 46 cm)

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Label copy
The Tall Bridge
1878
Lithotint with scraping
Second state of two (Way 9; Chicago 12)
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1954/1.418
The pictorial construction strategies of Japanese prints, such as those in the adjacent case, are also at the heart of The Tall Bridge, in which the exposed piers, drawn at low tide, are animated by the protective wooden boards in horizontal patterns that balance the pedestrian balustrade above.
This impression of The Tall Bridge was designed for inclusion in Piccadilly, but the periodical went bankrupt before it could be included; nearly all of the impressions intended for it were destroyed, making this one quite rare.

Subject matter
Although "The Tall Bridge" was drawn for the publication "Piccadilly", the periodical went bankrupt and the copies that had been printed on plate paper and intended for circulation were all tossed out. Only a handful of the copies printed for "Piccadilly" were saved, of which this is one.
Whistler's low vantage point gives the twin piers of the old Battersea Bridge an heroic stature. As with "The Broad Bridge", distant views of the city are visible between the piers; the pedestrian walkway is more completely shown.

Physical Description
Two piers of a bridge soar in the upper half of the image, including the span with pedestrians and the railing at the top of the work. In the foreground, the water and reflections at the foot of the bridge dominate. Between the piers smoke stacks can be seen in the distance.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
bridges
bridges (built works)
buildings
standing
water
water (inorganic material)