Artwork
The Little Hat
The Little Hat is a print by the Impressionist artist James McNeill Whistler. It dates from 1887 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Overview
The Little Hat is a print produced by James McNeill Whistler in 1887. Executed during the later phase of Whistler’s career, the work exemplifies his interest in delicate tonal effects and modest subject matter. It is part of the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is displayed among other works from the artist’s print series.
Technique & Style
Created as a print, the piece reflects Whistler’s mastery of line and subtle gradations of tone, hallmarks of his approach to graphic media. The composition relies on restrained detail, focusing on the simple form of a hat to explore light, shadow, and the interplay of surface and space, consistent with his aesthetic of “art for art’s sake.”
History & Provenance
The Little Hat entered the Cleveland Museum of Art’s collection through acquisition in the early 20th century, shortly after the museum began expanding its holdings of American and European prints. Its presence in the museum underscores Whistler’s influence on the development of printmaking in the United States and provides a reference point for scholars studying his later graphic output.
Artist & collection
Artist
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American painter in oils and watercolor, and printmaker, active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.
Arrangement in Black, No. 3: Sir Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain
Arrangement in Flesh Colour and Black: Portrait of Theodore Duret
Gold and Brown: Self-Portrait
Edward Guthrie Kennedy
Harmony in Yellow and Gold: The Gold Girl—Connie Gilchrist
George W. Vanderbilt
Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl
Henry Irving as Philip II of Spain
