1873
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
The Little Velvet Dress is a 1873 ink by James McNeill Whistler, a Impressionism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This sketch shows a woman standing straight, wearing a long dress that flows down to her feet. The fabric looks soft and wrinkled, with quick, scratchy lines that make it seem like it’s moving. Her face is simple, with just a few light strokes to suggest features. The artist used a tool called a drypoint to carve into the paper, leaving behind rough, textured lines that catch the light differently. This made the dress look almost fuzzy. Next, look up technique: drypoint to see how artists use metal tools to create these kinds of prints.
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.
See the richer artist page
