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The image depicts a riverside scene with buildings in the background. The foreground shows a man leaning against a railing, with figures working near boats to the right. The artwork features detailed linework reminiscent of etching, creating a textured view of the riverside. The color palette is monochromatic, with shading achieved through line density. The scene captures a slice of 19th-century life, blending human and industrial elements seamlessly.
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The image depicts a riverside scene with buildings in the background. The foreground shows a man leaning against a railing, with figures working near boats to the right. The artwork features detailed linework reminiscent of etching, creating a textured view of the riverside. The color palette is monochromatic, with shading achieved through line density. The scene captures a slice of 19th-century life, blending human and industrial elements seamlessly.

National Gallery of Art · Print

Black Lion Wharf

James McNeill Whistler

Date
1859
Medium
etching in black on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 14.76 × 22.23 cm (5 13/16 × 8 3/4 in.) sheet: 22.54 × 36.2 cm (8 7/8 × 14 1/4 in.)
Classification
Print
Accession number
2015.19.3252
Credit line
Corcoran Collection (Bequest of Margaret Coughlan, 2004)
Time span
1851 to 1875
Department
CG-W
Original NGA record Wikidata

Portfolio and series

Series
A Series of Sixteen Etchings of Scenes on the Thames

Subjects and terms

  • American
  • etching
  • Cityscape
  • Boats
  • River
  • Man
  • Figures
  • Buildings
  • cityscape
Provenance

Margaret Coughlan, Washington, DC; Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, 2004; acquired 2015 by the National Gallery of Art

Inscription

lower right in plate: Whistler. 1859.; lower left verso in graphite by unknown hand: a63276

Watermarks

[unidentified]

NGA object ID 173478. Collection metadata is reproduced under CC0. This work is included because its NGA published-image record is marked open access; visitors should recheck the source record before substantial reuse.