# Whistler with a Hat

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1859  
Drypoint with light plate tone on thin ivory Japanese paper  
Image/plate: 22.6 × 15.1 cm (8 15/16 × 6 in.); Sheet: 24.6 × 17 cm (9 11/16 × 6 3/4 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2011.1098. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/213620).

## About this work

Whistler portrays himself at about twenty-five in a broad-brimmed hat, scratching the image directly into the copper with a drypoint needle. The slight burr thrown up by the needle holds extra ink and gives the lines a soft, velvety richness, enhanced here by a light film of tone left on the plate and by the thin Japanese paper. Made in 1859, the year he settled in London, the print shows the young American already a confident printmaker, and it echoes the self-portrait etchings of Rembrandt, whom he deeply admired.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

James McNeill Whistler made this in 1859, aged 25. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of drypoint with light plate tone on thin ivory japanese paper.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### 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.

### [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
- Culture: United States
- The artist was 25
- Real size: about 8½ × 6 in (22 × 15 cm). The original is small: even the 8 × 10 in print shows it larger than life.
- Century: 19th century
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/360.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/360/1920.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; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- 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; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- 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; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 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/whistler-with-a-hat-aic-213620).