This summer The Frick Collection will present an exhibition dedicated to the colorful and often controversial artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834–1903). The Frick’s ensemble of four full-length portraits by Whistler will be displayed in the museum’s Oval Room alongside his evocative seascape Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean (1866). The exhibition will include pastels and etchings from his Venetian sojourn of 1879–80. Drawn entirely from the permanent collection, these works show Whistler’s command of three distinct media and demonstrate his concern for the harmony of form, color, and composition. It is the first time in more than twenty years that these portraits, pastels, and prints will be on view together.
Whistler was a master etcher, and he returned to this medium throughout his career. He traveled to Venice to complete a commission from the Fine Arts Society for twelve etchings, which came to be known as the “First Venice Set.” In the etchings, Whistler translates Venice’s vibrancy in a restricted palette of black, brown, white, and gray. Whistler later described these effects as “painting with exquisite line.” In the exhibition, three plein-air pastels provide a colorful counterpoint to the etchings.