Little Wapping (The Little Rotherhithe)

James McNeill Whistler

Etching, printed in black ink on wove paper

Freer Gallery of Art

Little Wapping, also catalogued as The Little Rotherhithe, is an etching by James McNeill Whistler dated 1861 in the plate, depicting a compact view of the Thames at Wapping and Rotherhithe — the densely trafficked dockside district of London that captivated the artist during his early years in the city. Executed with Whistler's characteristic economy and precision of line, the composition reflects his engagement with the working waterways of the Thames and his affinity for the gritty, industrious character of the river's south bank. Whistler (1834–1903), an American-born artist who spent most of his career in Britain, made etching a central pillar of his artistic practice, producing nearly 500 prints over five decades and becoming one of the most celebrated printmakers of the nineteenth century. The Thames etchings of this period — rooted in Realism and influenced by his training as a topographical draughtsman — represent the formative phase of his career before his later move toward the tonal abstraction of his Nocturnes and the broader Aesthetic Movement.