The painted surface or ‘finish’ of the work of James McNeill Whistler has been the central issue in the writing and critical reception of his work. For the first time, this project addresses evidence from the paintings themselves, bringing together technical findings from five works across three collections.
Led by Tate and generously funded by the Lunder Foundation, this year long project is a collaboration with Colby College Museum of Art, Maine, USA, and the Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow, UK. It will complement the first major European exhibition of Whistler’s work in thirty 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, which is to be confirmed.
The Whistler's Finish project team in the Tate Britain Conservation Studio with Miss Agnes Mary Alexander c.1873 and Nocturne: Black and Gold – The Fire Wheel 1875
Photo: Tate (Oliver Cowling)
Three international workshops will bring together centres of Whistler technical expertise, growing networks, sharing expertise and agreeing a research framework for collaboration, including the presentation and interpretation of the works in gallery space. Tangible and lasting documentation will take the form of a behind-the-scenes film giving access to key stages of the research, and a special edition of Tate Papers related to Whistler’s painting practice.
The project enables a deeper collaboration between gallery teams in Conservation, Conservation Science and Curatorial, to share discoveries with wider audiences, providing a template for future collaboration as the project’s legacy.
Whistler’s Finish: International Online Research Workshop 1
The programme and recordings from Whistler’s Finish Workshop 1 (7 and 8 May 2025) are available on the Shared Research Repository for cultural and heritage organisations
Programmes and recordings from future workshops will be made available here after they take place in late 2025 and early 2026.
Funder
The Whistler’s Finish Research and Conservation Project is supported by The Lunder Foundation.
Tate is pleased to acknowledge that some of the equipment used to support this conservation treatment was generously supported by an UK Research and Innovation Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) Capability for Collections (CapCo) Fund award 2020-2023.
