The Unsafe Tenement, James Abbott McNeill Whistler

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James Abbott McNeill Whistler, The Unsafe Tenement
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, The Unsafe Tenement
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
The Unsafe Tenement
1858
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
1834–1903
The Unsafe Tenement, 1858
Portfolio/Series title: Twelve etchings from Nature, or The French Set
Where object was made: France
Material/technique: etching; laid paper
Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 157 x 225 mm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 240 x 320 mm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 6 3/16 x 8 7/8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 9 7/16 x 12 5/8 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in
Mat Dimensions (Height x Width): 19 x 14 in
Credit line: Gift from the John J. Talleur and Ann Talleur Collection
Accession number: 1991.0270
Not on display
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Exhibition Label: "American Etchers Abroad, 1880-1939," Apr-2004, Reed Anderson James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s beginnings as an etcher of international importance can be found in the publication of a suite of prints titled Twelve etchings after Nature, more commonly known as the French Set, which was first published in 1858. "The Unsafe Tenement" is among the best known etchings in the series. Whistler discovered the farmhouse in "The Unsafe Tenement" in northern France. Sunlight bathes the ramshackle structure at the center of the composition, the dog laying in the sun in front of the open doorway, and the pitchfork leaning against an exterior wall. Whistler’s lines describe textures, and his areas of dense cross-hatching create the dark shadows under the roof of the crumbling structure. The format features a centralized motif with areas around the perimeter left essentially unworked; Whistler would make extensive use of this format throughout his career.