The Open Door

After a long and illustrious career, by 1901 Whistler was feeling the strain of overwork and he set off for warmer climes to aid his health, finally settling in Ajaccio, Corsica, for three months. He filled his time etching and sketching and produced two watercolors, of which this is one.

While a seemingly simple scene, it is a mysterious image in some ways. The man dimly glimpsed through the shadowed doorway appears somewhat sinister. The only touches of color are in the blue of the woman’s skirt, her red blouse, and the white of the baby’s swaddling, reflected in the whitewash elsewhere. The chickens are delightfully created from a series of staccato dots and dashes. Added after the main part of the image was drawn, the backdrop of the building can be seen through their bodies. The paper, a neutral tan, is one that Whistler was experimenting with at the turn of the century, and it adds atmosphere without suffocating the figures. Whistler’s judicious use of line and color combined with the conscious choice of the tone of the paper testify to his genius, which still inspires today.

The Johnson Museum has a rich collection of more than one hundred Whistler’s prints, many purchased by one collector directly from Whistler’s first American dealer, Edward G. Kennedy; plus three additional drawings and a painting, providing an important resource for deep research and study. (“FIGURE/STUDY: Drawings from the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art,” text by Nancy E. Green and presented at Carlton Hobbs, LLC January 25-February 2, 2019)