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Lagoon - Noon

Impression: Freer Gallery of Art
Freer Gallery of Art
(1887.27)
Number: 209
Date: 1879/1880
Medium: etching and drypoint
Size: 127 x 204 mm
Signed: butterfly at lower left (3-final)
Inscribed: no
Set/Publication: 'Second Venice Set', 1886
No. of States: 3
Known impressions: 30
Catalogues: K.216; M.213; W.186
Impressions taken from this plate  (30)

TECHNIQUE

The composition of Lagoon: Noon was etched, with drypoint added mainly in the sky and water, and fading in later impressions.

PRINTING

An early impression of Lagoon: Noon was printed in black ink on cream paper with light tone wiped vertically, leaving more ink at the bottom of the plate (). The butterfly signature on such early proofs was quite large in size, with veins on the wings; surprisingly, in this case, the print was trimmed to the platemark, leaving the butterfly on a tab (most early impressions have a wide margin). Most impressions were printed in dark brown ink, on various papers, including ivory laid paper with a partial watermark 'W' () and with a partial Strasbourg Lily watermark ().
Lagoon: Noon was published by Messrs Dowdeswell and Thibaudeau with the Twenty-six Etchings or the 'Second Venice Set' in 1886. The record of impressions for this edition lists one delivered on 20 August, followed by most of the edition in October: five on the 2nd, thirteen on the 6th, and seven on 21 and 26 October, a total of only 33. 7

7: Whistler to W. Dowdeswell, GUW #08717.

The drypoint was worn down in later impressions, and usually impressions are rather pale. These include several impressions in dark brown ink, for instance one on cream 'modern' (post-1800) laid () and on cream laid paper () as well as on cream () and ivory Asian laid () and light buff Japan paper (). A few are heavily inked with carefully wiped tone to compensate for fading drypoint ().
The three cancelled impressions are in black ink on ivory laid paper (), dark brown on ivory 'antique' (pre-1800) watermarked laid paper () and black ink on ivory laid paper with a Marlowe watermark ().