James M. Whistler Original Etching Rag Pickers, Quartier Mouffetard, Paris 1858

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James McNeill Whistler's Original Etching of the Rag Pickers, Quartier Mouffetard, Paris, 1858From his first published set, Twelve Etchings from Nature, referred to as the "French Set".Printed on laid paper in off white, the dimensions of the plate mark are 9cm x 15 1/4cm. The double matted inside dimensions are 10cm x 16 1/2cm and the outer frame dimensions are 15" x 20". There is no foxing or damage to the etching or mat, but the frame has some paint loss. The backing paper has been cut along the edge however, because the staples seem to be intact and the paper still covering the majority of them, I do not believe the artwork was ever removed. I hope the close-up photo of the paper will confirm this. The etching was originally sold as part of the Vincent Price Collection through Sears Roebuck and Company in the 1960's. Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art In 1962, art was not really new to Sears. As early as 1895, Sears offered oil paintings at prices of 90 cents and up. The services of many distinguished artists, such as Andrew Loomis, McClelland Barclay and Norman Rockwell had designed covers for the Sears catalog. Yet, company executives observed that except for a few major cities, fine art was virtually inaccessible to the general public. Sears set out to end this isolation by merchandising art throughout the country, in a presentation from which pictures could be readily purchased to enrich American homes. Vincent Price was approached to take charge of this program. Price, although well-known by the public as an actor, was also known in the international art world as a collector, lecturer, former gallery-owner and connoisseur who spent a dozen years studying art at Yale, the University of London and other art centers abroad. Price was given complete authority to acquire any works he considered worthy of selection. He searched throughout the world for fine art to offer through Sears. He bought whole collections and even commissioned artists, including Salvador Dali, to do works specifically for this program. At first, the idea of a large merchandising organization, such as Sears, maintaining a serious, top-quality art collection met with skepticism. But the public - and the artists themselves - soon learned that Sears would not compromise with good taste or artistic quality. On October 6, 1962, the first exhibit and sale of "The Vincent Price Collection of Fine Art" took place in a Sears store in Denver, Colo. Original works of the great masters - Rembrandt, Chagall, Picasso, Whistler and more - as well as those of the best contemporary artists at the time were offered for sale in this first exhibit and throughout the program's existence. Items ranged in selling price from $10 to $3,000. Sears customers could also purchase items on an installment plan for as little as $5 down and $5 a month. Each work in the program was guaranteed as an original work of quality, just as Sears offered quality guarantees on its lawnmowers and TVs. The program was an instant success. So many pictures were snatched up the first day that an emergency shipment had to be flown in lest the walls be bare the next day. The program expanded in the weeks that followed, adding exhibits in 10 additional Sears stores including Hartford, Conn., Harrisburg, Penn., San Diego, Calif., Evansville, Ind., Madison, Wis., and Oklahoma City, Okla. After the successful exhibition and sale of these first 1,500 pieces, the program was expanded nationwide to all of Sears stores throughout the country, bringing original works of fine art to the American public in unprecedented quantity and quality. Works from the collection were also offered for sale through a special catalog in 1963 and 1964. In 1966, the Sears Vincent Price Gallery of Fine Art was opened in Chicago, Ill., providing a mass audience for talented, but less well-known, young artists. The collection also held temporary exhibits in several hundred communities throughout the country and permanent ... read more

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