Chinese Card Players

John William Winkler

John W. Winkler saw Whistler's work at the 1915 Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco. Whistler's influence is obvious in this etching, done in San Francisco's Chinatown in 1936. The focus of the composition is a group of Chinese men playing cards, viewed through a doorway. The work is sketchier in the foreground and concentrates on the subjects in the center. Winkler found Chinatown fascinating and did many etchings there, which he called the "Chinatown Series".

Like Whistler, Winkler worked directly on the plate on site, etching it with the nitric acid as he worked rather than immersing them in an acid bath later. In Chinatown, at that time, there was often a suspicion of outsiders and Winkler had to learn to draw quickly, before the subject would disappear.

Also like Whistler he began printing on old papers, gathered from various sources including old ledgers and end sheets. Impressions would vary depending on the color and type of paper he used. Such is the case with this sheet, probably removed from an old ledger.