The Dam Wood / James McNeill Whistler
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1954/1.359
- Title
- The Dam Wood
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler
- Artist Nationality
- American
- Artist Life Dates
- 1834-1903
- Medium and Support
- drypoint on ivory laid paper
- Object Creation Date
- 1874-1875
- Credit Line
- Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker
- Inscription
- Signed, in pencil, on tab: butterfly and imp. Collection: Royal Library, Windsor Castle ( Lugt 2535) Watermark: (small).
- Dimensions
- 17.5 cm x 11.1 cm (6 7/8 in. x 4 3/8 in.)
- Century
- 19th century
- Physical Description
- In a desolate, wintery landscape stand a group of leafless trees with tall grasses beyond.
- Subject Matter
- Whistler’s relationship to Frederick Leyland began to deteriorate over Whistler’s elaborate decoration of the Leyland dining room, known as the Peacock Room. His last visit to their home was in January 1875 and The Dam Wood was executed in the environs of Speke Hall.
- By this date, Whistler’s work had already begun to take on a simplified composition and an elimination of details. This work depicting a stand of young trees shows just such a reductive approach. The young trees form a screen of vertical lines very near the picture plane that obscures anything in the distance; this kind of composition flattens the perception of depth and is derived from Japanese prints. Other artists were experimenting with such compositional approaches at this time, such as Camille Pissarro.
- Primary Keywords
- trees
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 933 x 1311
- File Size
- 88 KB
- Record
- 1954/1.359
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.359/1954_1.359.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1954-SL-1.359:1954_1.359.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"The Dam Wood; James McNeill Whistler." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1954-sl-1.359/1954_1.359.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 25, 2024.
