James Abbott McNeill WhistlerAmerican, 1834–1903The Thames
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “The Thames” now? Collection: Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis. Not on view at present. Checked September 29, 2026.
Minneapolis, United States
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the work
The Thames, Whistler's most complex and evocative nocturne, was also the last image he created while living in his suite at the Savoy Hotel in London. While the other lithographs from this time were printed using transfer paper, Whistler drew this image directly on a stone. His printers readied the stone and the washes of lithographic medium (tusche) and delivered them to his hotel. Whistler worked on his balcony for several weeks, using a brush to paint on the tusche washes and then scraping away other areas for highlights. He eventually captured the effects of the silvery mist and delicate lights of the Thames at dusk. The Thames won a medal at the 1900 Paris World's Fair, where the art critic Théodore Duret saw it and remarked, It is infused with transparency and incredible lightness, and I was astonished by it.
Minneapolis Institute of Art
Details
- Accession number
- P.12, 356
In the catalog
Sources
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Image: Minneapolis Institute of Art — public domain
In the life of James Abbott McNeill Whistler
The whole life10 May 1896
Death of His Wife Beatrice
After Beatrice was found to have cancer, the couple returned to London in February 1896, to the Savoy Hotel. She died on 10 May 1896; her death was a blow from which Whistler never recovered.
1898 · Membership
International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers
1898
Founding of the Académie Carmen
In 1898 Whistler, together with Carmen Rossi, founded an art school, the Académie Carmen, but owing to his failing health he was forced to close it on 6 April 1901.
17 July 1903
Died
