"Arrangement in Gray and Black, No 2 - Portrait of Thomas Carlyle", after JAM Whistler.

Richard Josey

The Glasgow catalogue raisonné of Whistler's paintings discuss how this print came to be done: "Desperate to regain public approval before his suit against Ruskin came to trial on 25 November 1878, Whistler decided to issue reproductive prints after the paintings he had displayed at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1877 and 1878. Even if the paintings failed to sell, considerable sums of money were to be made through the sale of editions of reproductive prints. At first he tried to make them himself. In November 1877 he made two etchings after the 1876?85 painting 'Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain' (YMSM 187; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York)—Irving as Philip of Spain, No. I (K 170) and Irving as Philip of Spain, No. 2 (K 171)—but he was not pleased with the results, and abandoned his attempts at reproductive printmaking.

Another option was to have someone else make the reproductions of his paintings. In the summer of 1878, Charles Augustus Howell, an opportunist who acted as middleman for a number of artists, dealers, and collectors, persuaded Whistler to enter into a potentially lucrative arrangement with the printseller Henry Graves. Graves commissioned a commercial engraver, Richard Josey, to reproduce 'Arrangement in Gray and Black, No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle' (YMSM 137; City Art Gallery, Glasgow) in mezzotint. Whistler undoubtedly hoped to popularize this portrait of an illustrious contemporary to help establish his own credibility.

Mezzotint, a tonal process, was much more appropriate than etching for the reproduction of paintings. Josey experienced technical problems, however. Whistler tried experimenting with the mezzotint process himself, inking and printing a plate. Eventually Josey resolved the problems, and Whistler was satisfied with the results achieved by the printer Mr. Holdgate. At Howell’s instigation, Graves commissioned Josey to make mezzotints after 'Arrangement in Gray and Black No1: Portrait of the Painter’s Mother' (YMSM 101; Musée d’Orsay, Paris) and 'Arrangement in Brown and Black: Miss Rosa Corder' (YMSM 203; The Frick Collection, New York).

Graves would not, however, commission mezzotints after the two controversial nocturnes and the portrait that Howell next deposited with him. Exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery exhibition of 1877, one of them, 'Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket' (YMSM 170), was the painting that had given rise to Ruskin’s libelous remarks. Graves’s decision no doubt reflects the stigma attached to these paintings on the eve of the trial, as well as the difficulty of reproducing their subtle atmospheric effects."

Whistler approved this image and the portrait of his mother to be done by Josey. The Carlyle was offered as a: "Portrait of Thomas Carlyle / From the Original Full-Length Life Size Picture by / James A. McNeill Whistler. / Engraved in Pure Mezzotint by Richard Josey / Under the Immediate Supervision of the Painter / Size 14 In. x 12 In. / Price to Subscribers. / Signed Artist's Proofs.....£3 30 / Lettered Proofs ..............£2 20 / Prints .............................£1 10 / Names of Subscribers Received By / Charles A. Howell, / Chaldon House, Fulham, S.W."

The signed artists proofs appear to have been printed chine collé and signed by Whistler and Josey, such as this impression, which has no publishers blindstamp. The lettered proofs were in blacks, grays and white with lettered text, and further proofs with nothing added. Whistler's contract included 6 proofs of the cream collé version in addition to his cash payment. It did not specify any edition sizes for any printing.

According to “The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler: A Catalogue Raisonné”, “ There were problems also with 'Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle' YMSM137. The plate would not stand the three hundred proofs that were to be printed from it, and Josey had to be called in to go over it again, after the steel facing was removed and ruined the ground. After every seventy proofs printed Josey had to work on the plate to bring it back into a fit state.” It is highly doubtful that a full edition of 300 was achieved and doubtful that Whistler would have signed many impressions.

The print was advertised in the Bristol Mercury and Daily Post Saturday, 13 July 1878. Published in The Academy, 7 December 1878, p.549 - a review of it, possibly by Frederick Wedmore, the journal's regular writer on prints which reads:

'We have recently seen an exceedingly successful rendering of one of the most acceptable achievements of Mr. J.M. Whistler - the portrait of Carlyle he exhibited, if we mistake not, at the first exhibition of the Grosvenor Gallery, but by no means a new work then. Mr. Josey is the artist who is to be credited with this fine yet faithful interpretation of a serious design. The contour and the expression of the figure, are seized from the original portrait with admirable skill; the gradations of light and shade are delicately observed and delicately rendered-the whole is, in fact, a very successful transcript of a picture that won intelligent praise, and has no sort of reason to be forgotten by such of the lovers of art as to take notice of its merits, we are assured that the work of Mr. Josey on this plate is pure scraping - the unadulterated mezzotint that was beloved by the artists (such as J.R. Smith , the Watsons, McArdell , and Valentine Green) to whom was confided the task of reproducing the great or the popular portraits of three generations ago. Only, at that time, the work, like the great seventeen century etchings and the earliest line -engravings was executed on copper, which yielded but a limited number of impressions, while it seems - the excellent work of Mr. Josey - is on steel. It is understood that the same engraver is immediately to be engaged in reproducing another portrait by the same painter."