Chelsea Rags 1888

Editor: This is James McNeill Whistler’s "Chelsea Rags." It is hard to date exactly. The work depicts people outside a shop with clothes hanging. I’m struck by the sketchiness of the piece. What's your read on it? Curator: As a materialist, I'm drawn to the "rags" themselves. Whistler's choice of subject matter directs our attention to the culture of consumption and the social hierarchies embedded within the textile trade. How might the process of creating this etching—the labor involved—relate to the labor suggested in the scene? Editor: That is fascinating. I had not thought about it that way. Thanks for your insights. Curator: My pleasure. It's important to consider how Whistler elevated the everyday, the ‘rag trade,’ blurring the lines between fine art and the reality of material production.