James McNeill Whistler

James McNeill Whistler was a leading figure in the revival of lithography in the late 19th century. His lithographs focus upon scenes and themes earlier explored in his paintings, etchings, and pastels. Using transfer paper, he created the effects of drawing, and with a few lines was able to convey a total picture. Working with the London printer Thomas Way and his son T. R. Way, Whistler initially hoped the lithographs would bring him a mass audience and financial security; later he hoped connoisseurs would collect his quiet, understated images as precious objects of enduring value. Steven Block began assembling his important collection in the late 1970s. It includes early experiments, portraits of friends and family, studio models, shop and street scenes, and sketches of the Thames and its bridges.