Whistler's Finish: International Online Research Workshop 1

Whistler’s Finish (April 2025 – March 2026) is a research project to undertake the treatment of selected case studies and technical examination of a group of oil paintings by James McNeill Whistler across international collections, casting light on his methods and techniques.

Led by Tate, in collaboration with Colby College Museum of Art, Maine, USA, and the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, UK, the project is generously funded by the Lunder Foundation. The project complements the first major European exhibition of Whistler’s work in 30 years, James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain from 21 May - 27 September 2026; Van Gogh Museum from 16 October 2026 - 10 January 2027; and at a third venue tbc.

On 7 and 8 May 2025, centres of Whistler technical expertise were brought together online for the first workshop of three to be held during the project. Over the course of the two days, 22 papers were given by international experts, discussing Whistler’s techniques and the conservation of his works across oil, watercolour, pastel, print and frames.

Day 1 focused on establishing the ‘state of the art’ in current Whistler research, and Day 2 on where the project research might take us next. Day 2 concluded with a series of progressive collaborative group discussions.

Please see the programme PDF for full details.