A Fragment of Piccadilly (Piccadilly)
[1884–86]
Medium
Etching, printed in dark brown ink on ivory laid paper; only state (Glasgow)
Dimensions
Plate: 4 1/4 × 2 5/8 in. (10.8 × 6.7 cm) Sheet: 4 1/4 × 2 5/8 in. (10.8 × 6.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
Accession Number
17.3.134
Tags
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler, renowned American-born artist celebrated for his Aestheticist principles and mastery of tone and harmony, created *A Fragment of Piccadilly (Piccadilly)* between 1884 and 1886. This intimate etching captures a glimpse of London's vibrant Piccadilly district—a bustling hub of Regency-era architecture, shops, and urban energy—rendered in a single state from the Glasgow edition. Printed in dark brown ink on delicate ivory laid paper, its diminutive size (just 4¼ × 2⅝ inches) invites close contemplation, transforming a street scene into a poetic fragment of modern city life...
About the Artist
James McNeill Whistler · 1834–1903
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was an American-born painter and printmaker who became a leading figure in the Aesthetic Movement and pioneer of Tonalism and Japonisme. He revolutionized art by championing "art for art's sake" and treating paintings as visual equivalents of musical compositions, titling works as "arrangements," "harmonies," and "nocturnes" to emphasize formal qualities o...