# Long Lagoon

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1880  
etching and drypoint on Asian laid paper  
plate: 15.24 x 22.54 cm (6 x 8 7/8 in.) sheet (includes tab with signature): 15.88 x 22.54 cm (6 1/4 x 8 7/8 in.)

Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1943.3.8536. [The museum's record](https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.11033.html).

## About this work

A long, low line of buildings and the masts of distant ships stretch across the horizon, mirrored in a broad expanse of still water that fills most of the sheet. Whistler etched The Long Lagoon in 1880 during his stay in Venice, and he used the plate to explore how little needed to be drawn: a few delicate lines and reflections suggest an entire city floating between water and sky. Printed on Asian paper, with its soft surface and warm colour, it has a hazy, luminous effect.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

James McNeill Whistler made this in 1880, aged 46. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

### What you’re looking at

The image shows a landscape with a waterscape. The horizon separates the water and the sky. In the distance, there are buildings, structures, and ships with tall masts. Close to us, there are reflections of the ships and structures in the water with fine brushstrokes. The style is impressionistic with thin lines conveying details. The color palette is monochromatic with sepia tones.

_Description from the National Gallery of Art._

### How it was made

- **Drypoint.** Lines scratched straight into the plate with a needle throw up a ridge of metal, the burr, which holds ink and prints a soft, furred line. The burr wears down, so early impressions are the richest.
- **Etching.** The artist draws with a needle through a waxy coating on a copper plate, and acid bites the exposed lines. The plate is then inked, wiped and printed under pressure, so the line keeps the freedom of drawing.
- **Laid paper.** Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

### [James McNeill Whistler](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/james-mcneill-whistler)

American, 1834–1903; born in Lowell, Massachusetts; died in London

Whistler spent part of his boyhood in Russia, left West Point without graduating and trained as a painter in Paris before settling in London in 1859. He held that a picture was an arrangement of colour and form, and named his works symphonies, harmonies and nocturnes; a hostile review of one nocturne led to his 1878 libel suit against John Ruskin. He was equally committed to etching, and in his Venice plates of 1879–80 he left films of ink on the copper to suggest water and dusk.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- The artist was 46
- Real size: about 6 × 9 in (15 × 23 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Landscape, Ship, Lake, Boat
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1357.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1357/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/long-lagoon-nga-11033).