Design cover for West Point Song of the Graduates
Medium
Transfer lithograph in black on off-white wove paper
Dimensions
Image: 33.6 × 22.2 cm (13 1/4 × 8 3/4 in.); Sheet: 34.1 × 26.1 cm (13 7/16 × 10 5/16 in.)
Classification
transfer lithograph
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
14482
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler’s *Design Cover for West Point Song of the Graduates* (1852) is a delightful early print from the artist’s teenage years, capturing a moment of youthful creativity tied to his brief stint at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Created when Whistler was just 18 this cover design for a graduates’ songbook reflects the camaraderie and traditions of the academy, where he studied engineering before being dismissed for academic struggles—a pivot that launched his artistic path. Rendered as a transfer lithograph in bold black ink on off-white wove paper (image: 3...
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...