Accession Number
1985/2.119

Title
Clothes-Exchange, Houndsditch, No. l

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1887

Medium & Support
etching and drypoint, printed in dark brown ink on laid paper, trimmed to platemark

Dimensions
6 5/16 x 9 1/2 in. (16 x 24 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Mr. Gilbert M. Frimet

Label copy
Clothes-Exchange, No. 1
1886–88
Etching
Second state of two (Kennedy 286)
Gift of Gilbert M. Frimet, 1985/2.119
In Clothes-Exchange, No. 1, Whistler portrays the poor Houndsditch district in London’s East End as a distant view. It is part of a group of modest-sized etchings that explore street views of London, many of which concentrate on shop fronts and include images of women and children gathered in front of buildings or in doorways. Here, instead of portraying buildings frontally, Whistler telescopes back to give us a sweeping view with deep spatial recession of this poor region of London where ragpickers worked.

Subject matter
Whistler, following some of his early interests, was attracted to working parts of London. The Clothes Exchange was in Houndsditch in the East End. According to the Glasgow etching website, this area was also the Jewish quarter in London and "it may have had associations for Whistler with the Jewish characters drawn and etched by Rembrandt Harmens van Rijn."

Physical Description
The work shows a view down a partly drawn street to a building at the end. The ground floor of the building is open to the street, creating a dark space behind the entrance. Figures are arranged down the street and at the threshold of the building at the end of the street.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
Figures
Urban life
buildings