Whistler's Finish: International Online Research Workshop 3
Resource type
Presentation
Date published
21. April 2026
Abstract
The Whistler's Finish project ran from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026, complementing the major Whistler exhibition, James McNeill Whistler (Tate Britain from 21 May - 27 September 2026) and Whistler. Dandy and Disruptor (Van Gogh Museum from 16 October 2026 - 10 January 2027).
Generously funded by the Lunder Foundation, this project has consisted of the study and treatment of 12 works spanning James McNeill Whistler’s career, across the three collections of the collaborating partner institutions Tate, Colby College Museum of Art, Maine, USA, and The Hunterian, University of Glasgow.
The project involved the technical examination of a group of Whistler oil paintings in our collections to cast light on his methods and techniques, particularly around the question of 'finish'. Whistler’s Finish has been the central issue in the writing and critical reception of Whistler's work. For the first time, this project addressed the technical evidence from the paintings themselves, bringing together technical findings from paintings in several collections. The project has enabled a deeper collaboration between our gallery teams in Conservation, Conservation Science and Curatorial, and will share discoveries with wider audiences, providing a template for future collaboration as its legacy.
On 19 March 2026, this workshop, the final of three which have taken place during the project, brought together the project’s conservators, curators, conservation scientists and scholars to share project outcomes. It also looked forward to the first major European exhibition of Whistler’s work in thirty years.
Creator (organisation)
Tate
Project name
Whistler's Finish
Funder
| Funder name | Awards |
Lunder Foundation | |
Event title
Official URL
Rights statement
In Copyright