1879
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Little Putney No. 1 is a 1879 ink by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a simple river scene with a wooden bridge crossing over calm water. The bridge has a railing and a few small figures walking across. On the right side, there’s a church tower with a pointed roof and some trees nearby. The lines are loose and quick, almost like a sketch. The artist used a technique called drypoint to scratch into the metal plate, creating fine, textured lines. This method lets the ink fill those scratches, making the lines look slightly fuzzy. Next, look up etching to see how it works and why it feels different from pencil or paint.
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
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