Whistler’s ‘Nocturne’: Our Most Expensive Print

Our October 27 & 28, 2010 two-part print sale, which began with Whistler and His Influence on Wednesday, set records. James A. M. Whistler’s Nocturne became the most expensive Whistler print ever sold at auction when it brought $282,000. It is also the most expensive print Swann Galleries has ever sold. Nearly 20 other Whistler prints set records as well.

James A. M. Whistler, Nocturne, etching and drypoint, 1879-80. Sold for $282,000, a world record for any print by Whistler.
Rembrandt Van Rijn, The Descent from the Cross: Second Plate, 1633. Sold for $64,800.

The sale’s other top lots came during the Rare & Important Old Masters portion, with prints by Rembrandt comprising 10 of the 20 top lots. His etching and engraving The Descent from the Cross: Second Plate, 1633, brought $64,800.