Artwork
The Thames Towards Erith
The Thames Towards Erith is an ink print by the Impressionist artist James McNeill Whistler. It dates from 1877 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
- Inscription
- Inscribed:[Whistler's butterfly signature] lower right composition, in plate, artist's hand. "[Whistler's butterfly signature] imp." lower left margin, graphite, artist's hand. "a45541 / a34695 [stricken]" verso, lower left sheet, graphite, unknown hand. "W. 135" verso, lower left sheet, graphite, unknown hand.
- Markings
- Marked:"LRJ" verso, black stamped ink. "National Gallery of Art" verso, black stamped ink. (Henry H. Benedict collector's stampt) verso, black stamped ink, (Lugt 1298).
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1877, James McNeill Whistler’s drypoint The Thames Towards Erith captures a tranquil segment of the River Thames near the town of Erith. Executed on laid paper, the print employs a restrained palette of tones to convey atmosphere rather than narrative, reflecting Whistler’s late‑19th‑century preoccupation with visual harmony.
Subject & Meaning
The composition presents a modest river scene populated by rowboats and distant larger vessels, with a thatched‑roofed hut anchored on the bank. The sky is suggested by a series of swift, slanted lines that imply wind or rain, emphasizing the fleeting quality of light and weather over any specific story.
Technique & Style
Whistler employed drypoint, incising the image directly into the paper’s surface to achieve delicate, velvety lines. The hand‑drawn, sketch‑like quality of the marks conveys movement and immediacy, while the subtle gradations of tone create a quiet, atmospheric effect characteristic of his tonal approach.
Context
As an American expatriate working in Britain, Whistler produced this print during a period when he was refining his tonal experiments across media. The work remains a representative example of his printmaking output from the late 1870s, illustrating his shift toward abstraction of mood and light in landscape subjects.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834 – July 17, 1903) 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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