Purchasing, praising and promoting Whistler's etchings: The American collector Howard Mansfield, (1849-1938)

Reid, Natalie Sarah (2007) Purchasing, praising and promoting Whistler's etchings: The American collector Howard Mansfield, (1849-1938). MPhil(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis examines the collection of Whistler etchings assembled by Howard Mansfield (1849-1938). The first section examines the beginnings of Mansfield's collection considering the initial motivations that drove the collector to begin his collection. The motivations that sustained his collecting activities between 1876 and 1919 are considered. The context of the American Etching Revival is also considered. The second section is a comparison between Mansfield's collecting activities and those of Whistler's chief patron, Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919). Both collectors' motivations are considered in relation to the purchase of Whistler's first etching Sketches on a Coast Survey Plate, (figure 2.1, Kl). The third chapter of this thesis looks at Mansfield's writings on Whistler, especially his catalogue raisonne of Whistler's etchings published in 1909. This catalogue is compared to the better known and commonly used catalogue compiled by Edward. G. Kennedy (1849-1932) and published in 1910. Chapter four looks at exhibitions of Whistler etching that Mansfield organised; these are examined in relation to Whistler's own exhibition activities and techniques and reveal the ways in which Mansfield promoted Whistler's etchings in America. The overall aim of this thesis is to establish the significance of Howard Mansfield as a connoisseur in the context of contemporary public and private collections, thus contributing to print and collecting studies.

• Item Type: Thesis (MPhil(R))
• Qualification Level: Masters
• Keywords: Art history, James McNeill Whistler, Howard Mansfield, etchings, collections.
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Culture and Creative Arts > History of Art
• Supervisor's Name: MacDonald, Prof. Margaret F.
• Date of Award: 2007
• Depositing User: Enlighten Team
• Unique ID: glathesis:2007-71158
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 10 May 2019 10:49
• Last Modified: 08 Jul 2021 07:23
• Thesis DOI: 10.5525/gla.thesis.71158
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/71158