The Mustard Seller 1858

Curator: This is James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s etching, “The Mustard Seller,” now housed in the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels like a snapshot from another time, almost ghostly. The details are softened, creating a hazy, dreamlike quality. Curator: Whistler was incredibly interested in the process of etching. He used thin lines and a network of crosshatching to build form, focusing on the materiality of everyday life. The figures and objects seem part of the city's fabric, made of the same brick and stone. Editor: I'm drawn to the figures' faces. They're obscured, giving them an almost anonymous quality. It makes me wonder about their lives, the stories behind this seemingly mundane transaction. Curator: Absolutely. Whistler elevates this commercial scene, reflecting broader industrial and economic changes. Editor: It's funny how something so small can feel so profound. I think I see something new each time I look at it.