Sale 2454 - 19th & 20th Century Prints & Drawings, September 19, 2017

27A c JAMES A. M.WHISTLER Fruit Stall . Etching and drypoint printed in dark brown on antique, cream laid paper, 1879-80. 227x151 mm; 9x6 inches. MacDonald’s twentieth state (of 21), with the white collar on the man in the doorway. Edition of approximately only 30. Signed with the butterfly and inscribed “imp” in pencil on the tab, lower left. From Twenty-Six Etchings . According to MacDonald, “A deceptively simple plate as originally composed in 1880, this was radically altered by Whistler as he worked on it between 1886-1887.” This is indeed among Whistler’s most developed plates, for which there are currently 21 known states. A brilliant, richly-inked and early impression of this very scarce etching, with selective wiping in the water and shadows, and with all the details distinct. Kennedy 200; Glasgow 225. [8,000/12,000]