Fishing Boats, Hastings
Medium
etching and drypoint on Asian laid paper
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8491
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler’s *Fishing Boats, Hastings* (1877) captures a serene coastal scene from the artist’s time in Hastings, England, a fishing town on the Sussex coast. Whistler, an American expatriate renowned for his Aestheticist principles—“art for art’s sake”—produced this etching during a productive period focused on capturing everyday life with subtle tonal harmonies rather than dramatic narratives. Part of his Hastings series, it reflects his fascination with the sea and working harbors, evoking the quiet rhythm of maritime labor amid misty skies. Printed in etching and drypoint on A...
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...