Print of woman reading book beneath lamp
Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College

A woman sits in profile facing right in a dim room with chair-rail molding on the walls. The woman leans back in her chair with her legs propped up. She holds an open book close to her face. Her right hand rests on the book’s pages. In the foreground we see the edge of a table with a cup, saucer, and a lit oil lamp on a tall post. The lamp illuminates the room with a small arc of light, illuminating the woman, her book, and part of the wall in the background.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
2005.284
People
James Abbott McNeill Whistler, American (Lowell, MA 1834 - 1903 London, England)
Title
Reading by Lamplight
Classification
Prints
Work Type
print
Date
1858
Culture
American
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/12452

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Etching and drypoint printed in black ink on white modern laid paper
Technique
Etching and drypoint
Dimensions
plate: 15.9 x 11.7 cm (6 1/4 x 4 5/8 in.)
sheet: 31.2 x 20.7 cm (12 5/16 x 8 1/8 in.)
Inscriptions and Marks
  • Signed: l.r. in plate: "J Whistler"
  • inscription: recto l.r. in image, ink, etching, signed, in artist's hand: J Whistler
  • inscription: recto l.r. margin, pencil: 1st state 29
  • collector's mark: verso l.l.,blue stamp: RR [in oval borderline, Robert Rice (not in Lugt)]
  • watermark: Forge

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Robert Rice, (not in Lugt).

State, Edition, Standard Reference Number

State
Glasgow i/iii
Standard Reference Number
Kennedy 32, Glasgow 37

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of Patricia Cornwell
Accession Year
2005
Object Number
2005.284
Division
European and American Art
Contact
am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of European and American Art at am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu