Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art
512-471-7324
The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler from the Collection of Steven Block
The lithographs of 19th-century American artist James Abbott McNeill
Whistler are among the artist's most abstract and personal expressions and
are exceptional examples of this technique. The Jack S. Blanton Museum of
Art at the University of Texas at Austin is proud to present "The
Lithographs
of James McNeill Whistler from the Collection of Steven Block." Drawn
from the largest privately held collection of Whistler's lithographs, this
exhibition conveys the artist's time and place through the delicate tonalities
of these sensuous, modernist compositions. The exhibition is on view from
September 8 through October 22, 2000 in the Blanton's Art Building gallery
at 23rd and San Jacinto on the UT campus. (left: The Thames (Second
State of 3), 1896, lithotint on china paper laid down on white wove, Collection
of Stephen Block; The Duet, 1894, lithograph on fine laid paper,
Collection of Stephen Block)
This exhibition of more than eighty works represents Whistler's entire oeuvre in lithography, displaying the full range of his explorations in the medium. Jonathan Bober, Curator of Prints, Drawings, and European Painting at the Blanton states, "Given Whistler's role in the development of modernism and prominence in the history of the technique, but the Museum's possession of only two examples, the exhibition seemed an excellent idea." The exhibition was organized by the Trust for Museum Exhibitions, based in Washington, D.C.
Since
1798, the process of lithography has been cherished as a method for quick
and inexpensive reproduction. Despite the early flourishing of lithography
as a means of artistic expression, by the mid-nineteenth century, this printmaking
process had come to be primarily identified with social commentary and commercial
applications. The 1890s, however, saw a revival in lithography as an art
form, as the conception and individual hand of the artist became paramount.
Along with painting and drawing, the art of lithography was at last granted
the position of a valued medium for original artistic production, and the
lithographs of James McNeill Whistler represent a primary and critical stage
in this transition. (left: The Draped Figure-seated, 1893,
lithograph on fine antique laid paper, Collection of Stephen Block)
Produced from 1878 through the late 1890s, Whistler's experiments
pushed both the methods and the vocabulary of lithography in new directions.
Technically, Whistler worked with his printers to develop and expand the
process in a number
of ways. Perhaps most notably, they advanced the development of the lithotint,
a method characterized by inks appearing as dilute washes, layered one over
the other in veils of faint tones. While Whistler did produce a small number
of colored lithographs, his black and
white compositions, too, evoke a mysterious sense
of color through these gentle variations and layers of ink. This delicate
manipulation of line and apparent color spoke directly to a grander movement
in Whistler's art, toward increased atmosphere and mood, and toward more
abstracted forms and vaguely poetic arrangements. Created at the dawn of
modernism, these lyrical compositions represent not only Whistler's most
original and personal visual expressions, but also critical precursors to
twentieth-century non-representational art. (left: Draped Figure
Reclining, 1890-1893, lithograph on thin laid japan paper in gray, green,
pink, yellow, blue & purple, Collection of Stephen Block; right: Rotherhithe,
1860, etching, Kennedy 63, 3rd state of 3, Collection of Stephen Block)
In
conjunction with The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler, the Blanton
also presents Whistler as art Etcher: His Work and His Followers.
Whistler, the etcher, was much revered through the early twentieth century,
and this exhibition reveals thirty examples by the artist and his immediate
followers, rounding out the portrait of Whistler as a printmaker. Organized
by Jennifer Sherlock, the Blanton's graduate intern in the department of
prints and drawings, Whistler as an Etcher includes works drawn entirely
from the Blanton's own permanent collection. (left: Nocturne,
1878-1887, lithotint on blue-gray paper, laid on white wove, Collection
of Stephen Block)
Read more about the Jack S. Blanton Museum of Art in Resource Library Magazine
Please click on thumbnail images bordered by a red line to see enlargements.
For further biographical information please see America's Distinguished Artists, a national registry of historic artists.
This page was originally published in Resource Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for more information. rev. 3/18/11
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