Accession Number
1954/1.335

Title
Thames Warehouses, One of the 'Sixteen Etchings,' or the 'Thames Set'

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1859

Medium & Support
etching on laid paper

Dimensions
4 9/16 in x 9 1/4 in (11.59 cm x 23.5 cm)

Credit Line
Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker

Subject matter
Many of Whistler's views of the Thames show the unsavory and dilapidated buildings around the Pool of London where the commercial hub of London's shipping business flourished. These regions, including Wapping and Rotherthite, were slated for demolition as part of an urban renewal project. Here Whistler was responding to Charles Baudelaire's challenge to artists that they find subjects for their art drawn from the "heriosm of modern life."

Physical Description
A horizontal view of a riverside congested with buildings and shipping on both sides. The river recedes to the center right; at the far distance is the billowing smoke of a steam tug and the dome of a distant church. In the foreground are low barges with figures standing or working. Along the lefthand bank are warehouses and other buildings, many with signs indicating that the proprietor makes sails, rope, and other naval implements.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Collection Area
Western

Rights
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Keywords
boats
buildings
docks (general waterside structures)
factories (structures)
industrialization
shipping
ships
water