# Nocturne (Nocturne: The Thames at Battersea)

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1878  
Lithotint with scraping on a prepared half-tint ground, printed in soft gray-black ink on pale blue laid chine mounted on ivory wove plate paper; second state of two (Chicago)  
Image: 6 3/4 × 10 3/16 in. (17.1 × 25.9 cm) Sheet: 13 1/2 × 19 5/16 in. (34.3 × 49 cm)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 17.3.159. [The museum's record](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/337702).

## About this work

The Thames at Battersea dissolves into soft, misty greys, boats and the far bank suggested by a few darker tones. Whistler made the image in 1878 as a lithotint, brushing washes of liquid ink onto a prepared stone and scraping out the lighter passages, a technique that let him carry the mood of his painted Nocturnes into print. Working with the London printer Thomas Way, he achieved a delicacy that few lithographers of the time attempted.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

James McNeill Whistler made this in 1878, aged 44. It is now at The Met in New York.

### [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: Prints
- The artist was 44
- Real size: about 14 × 19 in (34 × 49 cm). The 16 × 20 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Subjects: Rivers, Boats
- Colour: grey
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1029.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1029/1920.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
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164
- 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

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/nocturne-nocturne-the-thames-at-battersea-met-337702).