Swann Galleries - 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings - Sale 2422, September 22, 2016

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34 ● JAMES A. M.WHISTLER
Old Battersea Bridge.
Etching and drypoint printed in black on antique, cream laid paper, 1879. 202x293 mm;
8x11 1/2 inches, full margins. MacDonald’s fifth state (of 7), with the outline of the houses
faintly visible through the sail of the boat beneath the bridge and before the redrawn
butterfly lower right, likely an early proof impression in this state. Signed with the large,
shaded butterfly and inscribed “imp.” in pencil, lower right. Pro Patria watermark. Ex-
collection Colnaghi, London, with their stock numbers in pencil, lower right recto.
MacDonald cites approximately 50 impressions of this have found fewer than
15 impressions at auction in the past 30 years.
According to MacDonald, “Nearly 50 impressions of Old Battersea Bridge have been
recorded, though not all have been located.Whistler was expected to print 25 for the Fine
Art Society, and Frederick Goulding (1842-1909) was to print the remaining 25. However,
Whistler had not completed the edition before he left forVenice in September 1879. On
his return from Venice he apparently started printing again, and sold 21 impressions to
the Fine Art Society on 8 April 1881.This actually suggests thatWhistler decided to print
them all himself.” Kennedy 177; Glasgow 188.
[10,000/15,000]