Whistler's Watermarks

Drawing of boy in front of a wharf with sail boats

James McNeill Whistler, Eagle Wharf, 1859, Purchased 1978.

James McNeill Whistler was a prolific and inventive printmaker who took exceptional care with every stage in the creation of plates, stones and impressions. He gave no less consideration to his papers, the characteristics of which were an integral component of the finished print. Whistler celebrated flaws and irregularities in the paper and strived for what was unique at a time when uniformity was a priority for editioned works.

Of the some 260 prints in the National Gallery collection, 118 are on paper bearing a watermark and several watermarks previously unrecorded in relation to Whistler's work, have been discovered. The below pages discuss the motifs, meaning and history behind these diverse watermarks, as explored by the National Gallery’s paper conservation team.

Circular, decorative watermark

The Bishop’s crosier watermark, The Cantons of the Helvetian confederation.

Papers

Watermark of a jester in fool's cap

Listings

Watermark of man riding lion in a circular fence with the words Pro Patria above

The 'Maid of Dort' form of the Pro Patria watermark

Dynasts

Related

Exhibition

Prints of James McNeill Whistler
Part I: 1858–1880

Past Exhibition
Drawing of boy in front of a wharf with sail boats

13 Oct 1982 – 11 Jan 1983

Conservation

Paper

The Gallery's Paper Conservation team incorporates Mountcutting and Framing and is responsible for the conservation and preparation of works on paper.

Feature

Conserving bark paintings

Indigenous bark painting of central vertical waterlily plant with bulb, leaves and flower surrounded by catfish, tortoise, diver ducks

The National Gallery Conservation Department explores looking after bark paintings through unique technique and materiality.

Read Time: 11 minutes
Article

Conserving a crazy patchwork quilt

Quilt consisting of nine squares containing patchwork, surrounded by a green border.

Michelle Hunter details the conservation treatment of the crazy patchwork 'Quilt' made by sisters Constance and May Bright.

Read Time: 12 minutes
Art Talks /  Audio

Caring for your art collection with Lisa Addison

Five people are watching a demonstration given by a woman in a painting storage area.

Published 26 April 2024

Lisa Addison (Preventative Conservator) provides a talk about conservation at the National Gallery and how to look after works of art in your home.

Audio Tour
35 mins
Feature

The Rajah Quilt – 1841

Detail of Rajah Quilt Script reading " "TO THE LADIES/of the /Convict ship Committee/This quilt worked by the convicts/of the the Ship Rajah during their voyage/to van Diemans Land is presented as a/testimony of the gratitude with which/they remember their exertions for their/welfare while in England and during/their passage and also as a proof that/they have not neglected the Ladies/kind admonitions of being industrious/June 1841"

The conservation team explore the Rajah Quilt's story of hope and persistence

Read Time: 8 minutes
Q&A

Ask a Conservator: 2020
#AskaConservator

A team of conservators in the conservation lab

Our conservators have answered some of the questions you posed on 2020 Ask a Conservator Day.

Read Time: 18 minutes
Art Talks /  Audio

Micheline Ford on A Century of Quilts

Published 04 May 2024

Join Micheline Ford (Senior Conservator, Textiles) to learn about the conservation of quilts housed in the national collection.

Audio Tour
44 mins
Q&A

Meet a conservator
Alysha Redston, Time-Based Media Conservator

Portrait of Alysha Redston, Conservator, Time Based Media standing in front of Rebecca Horn's Les Amants [The lovers] 1991

Meet the National Gallery's first Time-Based Media Conservator

Read Time: 12 minutes
International Art /  Video

Jackson Pollock's 'Blue poles': What we see under UV light

screen capture of a video where a conservator is looking at a large painting of a man using a UV light to examine the canvas

Published 18 September 2020

Jackson Pollock’s 'Blue poles' 1952 has gone under the microscope for its most comprehensive conservation project to date.