Old Hungerford Bridge c. 1860 - 1861

James Abbott McNeill Whistler created this etching, “Old Hungerford Bridge,” to capture a slice of 19th century London. The image presents a complex layering of different modes of transport on the Thames river. Note the contrast between the traditional sailboats and the modern steamships, as well as the rail bridge overhead. Whistler made this print during a period of rapid industrial expansion in Britain. His choice to focus on working-class life, rather than the aristocratic class, makes a progressive statement about what subjects are worthy of artistic representation. London in this period was also the center of a vast empire. Whistler here presents the infrastructure that made it possible. To understand this image, you might look to resources from the Victorian period, such as newspapers, photographs, and other visual art. Art doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Whistler made “Old Hungerford Bridge” at a specific moment, in a specific place, amidst a tangle of social forces.