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Invitation to Mr. Whistler's "Ten O'clock"

A work made of engraving in black with additions in pen and black ink and watercolor on tan card, with metal grommet.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of engraving in black with additions in pen and black ink and watercolor on tan card, with metal grommet.

Date:

1885

Artist:

James McNeill Whistler
American, 1834-1903

About this artwork

On February 20, 1885, Whistler delivered the “Ten O’Clock,” an hour-long public lecture on art, to an audience composed of fashionable Londoners including artists, dealers, and members of the press. He chose the unconventional time—two hours later than most evening events—to ensure a crowd, and he enlisted the services of the theatrical producer Richard D’Oyly Carte and Carte’s manager, Helen Lenoir, to secure the venue in Piccadilly, promote the event, and sell tickets. The lecture was well received by the audience and was mostly well reviewed in the press the next day.
This professionally engraved invitation—with touches of hand coloring on the butterfly emblem—is actually more of an announcement, given that “invitees” paid to attend the lecture.

Status

Currently Off View

Department

Prints and Drawings

Artist

James McNeill Whistler (Issued by)

Title

Invitation to Mr. Whistler's "Ten O'clock"

Place

United States (Artist's nationality:)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

Made 1885

Medium

Engraving in black with additions in pen and black ink and watercolor on tan card, with metal grommet

Dimensions

20.4 × 30.6 cm (8 1/16 × 12 1/16 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Walter S. Brewster

Reference Number

1933.672

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/181408/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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