The Cock and the Pump
c. 1887
Medium
etching on laid paper
Dimensions
overall (trimmed to plate): 22 × 14.1 cm (8 11/16 × 5 9/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.8603
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler created this intimate etching around 1887 during a period when he was exploring everyday urban and rural motifs with remarkable delicacy. An American-born artist who spent much of his career in Britain and France, Whistler was a leading figure in the Aesthetic movement, favoring suggestion and tonal harmony over narrative detail. His etchings from this era often captured fleeting impressions of streets, harbors, and architectural elements, reflecting his interest in Japanese compositional principles and the beauty of ordinary subjects. Printed on laid paper and trimmed ...
About the Artist
James McNeill Whistler · 1834–1903
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was an American-born painter and printmaker who became a leading figure in the Aesthetic Movement and pioneer of Tonalism and Japonisme. He revolutionized art by championing "art for art's sake" and treating paintings as visual equivalents of musical compositions, titling works as "arrangements," "harmonies," and "nocturnes" to emphasize formal qualities o...