Steamboats off the Tower
Medium
Drypoint in black ink on off-white laid paper
Dimensions
Plate: 15.4 × 22.5 cm (6 1/8 × 8 7/8 in.); Sheet: 21.5 × 33.1 cm (8 1/2 × 13 1/16 in.)
Classification
drypoint
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
29639
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler’s *Steamboats off the Tower* (1875) captures the bustling energy of Victorian London’s Thames River, with steamboats gliding past the iconic Tower of London This intimate drypoint print, executed in black ink on off-white laid paper exemplifies Whistler’s shift toward subtle atmospheric effects during his mature career. A pioneer of Aestheticism, Whistler prioritized “art for art’s sake,” emphasizing tone, harmony, and suggestion over narrative detail—principles vividly evident here in the hazy interplay of light and shadow on water and vessels. Drypoint, Whistler’s fav...
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...