The Butcher's Dog
Medium
lithograph in black on wove paper
Dimensions
image: 18.1 × 13.1 cm (7 1/8 × 5 3/16 in.) sheet: 22.3 × 17.9 cm (8 3/4 × 7 1/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8782
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler’s *The Butcher’s Dog* (1896) is a delicate lithograph in black ink on wove paper, an everyday urban moment with the artist’s signature subtlety. Measuring just 18.1 × 13.1 cm, this intimate print belongs to the National Gallery of Art’s Rosenwald Collection and exemplifies Whistler’s late-career mastery of printmaking. Best known for his evocative paintings like *Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1* (often called *Whistler’s Mother*), Whistler championed Aestheticism, prioritizing harmony, tone, and “art for art’s sake” over narrative. Lithography suited Whistler perfect...
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...