Fall 2018 exhibitions:
Harmony in Print: J.A.M. Whistler Etchings and Lithographs from the UWM Art Collection
On behalf of the Department of Art History and the new Director of the UWM Art Collection and Emile H. Mathis Art Gallery, Professor David Pacifico, we invite you to join us at our Fall 2018 exhibition opening!
Though best known for his paintings, American artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was also a prolific etcher and lithographer. Presenting Whistler prints from the UWM Art Collection, Harmony in Print traces the artist’s printmaking career beginning with his naturalistic etchings from the late 1850s through to his inventive lithographs of the 1890s. Whistler’s novel approaches were, in part, a response to the explosion of commercial printmaking that arose with industrialization. In attempts to revive the artistic tradition of the original print, artists turned to etching and lithography as media for formal experimentation and creation as opposed to mere reproduction. By making fine prints more accessible to the public, artists educated a class of burgeoning art collectors and began altering perceptions of printmaking. By contextualizing Whistler’s prints using examples by his contemporaries from the UWMAC, this exhibition highlights the artist’s experimental techniques, innovative style, and significant role in the revival of printmaking.
This exhibition will run September 13 to November 1, 2018.
Regular Mathis Gallery hours are Monday to Thursday 10am-4pm.
