North Dupont Circle Seen as “Stale”; New BID Already Taking Action to Reverse Trend

By Larry Ray*

One participant at the recent Dupont Circle BID (Business

Improvement District) restau-rants roundtable program queried, “What is wrong with North Dupont Circle?” Most of the 18 participants agreed that North Dupont Circle, especially the retail, is stale like that of Cleveland Park, Glover Park, Woodley Park in contrast to the excitement of The Wharf, The Yards, Union Market, and Brookland.

Possibly related to “staleness” is the vacancy rate. Responding to our inquiry, Dupont Circle resident and busi-ness Owner Steve describes the area around 22nd and P Streets wrote, “There is the potential for 22 retail and yet 6 are vacant = 30%. And these vacancies are long term as much as 7 years. There seems to be no incentive for property owners to rent.”

Guided by Michael Kain of Kain & Associates, especially his son Patrick, the BID was created by the Dupont Circle North property owners to organize

and add the “spark” so that this area would become once again a destina-tion for shoppers, tourists, and residents. (Kain has been called Mayor of Dupont Circle.) Michael and Patrick spent two years meeting with property owners to persuade them to vote for joining the BID. (BIDs are financed by business and commercial property owners who have agreed to a special assessment col-lected with their DC real estate taxes; those funds are then remitted by the tax and revenue department to BIDs.) As they both told The InTowner, being in a position to call attention to the planned covering over of the Connecticut Avenue underpass where it emerges in the medi-an from beneath the Circle to Q Street to create a public plaza provided the persuasion edge.

According to the Kains, the plaza con-cept was conceived in the 1950s but never implemented.

As Patrick later elaborated in an email,

Now Into Our Half Century of Continuous Publication

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JUNE2019

Vol. 50, No. 12

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☞ What’s Inside? Editorial / Scooters: Council Must Act .....2Letters / Comment on the Line Hotel .... 3Art & Culture / Whistler at the Freer ......5

jjjjjjOn the Website Pages

Community News Reader Comments & Opinions

Recent Real Estate Sales Restaurant Reviews Washington History

☞ Reader Comments & Submissionsn ‘DC Council's “Returning Citizens”

Initiative’

n Balancing Neighborhood Retail: The 25% Rule

n CareFirst: Two Big to Regulate?

n Reconstructing Historic Holt House

n When Does My Cast Iron Staircase Need Attention?

photo—Larry Ray—InTowner.

A vacant store on Conn. Ave. north of the Circle.

photo—Sam Kittner Photography—courtesy Dupont Circle BID.

Despite concerns, the three blocks of Conn-ecticut Ave. just north of the Circle continue to attract locals and visitors.

photo—Olivia Kibler, Compass Realty.

Morning of Dec. 14th, seen on

17th Street, NW: Nancy Pelosi

with Floriana’s bar manager Dito Sevilla

admiring the fab Christmas tree.

Affordable Housing Focus of Committee of 100’s 19th Annual Vision Awards

By Matthew B. Gilmore*

The Committee of 100 on the Federal City presented its 2019 annual Vision

Awards on May 29th to a packed house at Trinity Washington University in Upper Northwest. These awards honor people and projects, plans, and organizations engaged in planning, development, and preservation which work toward making a more beautiful and livable Washington.

Affordable and low-income housing in Washington, both creation of and preserva-tion, was the key theme for this year’s awards and six organizations and projects were awarded for their efforts and accomplish-ments:

CLICK HEREto continue article

Cont., NORTH DUPONT p. 3

Pedestrians, Bicycles, and Scooters Not Easily Co-existing on Sidewalks, StreetsBy William G. Schulz

Scooter riders and bicyclists are out in force with summer in full

swing. The Washington Post reports a survey that reveals one in six DC residents have ridden a scooter in the past year -- a number that is expected only to grow.

And while the city seems to be making progress addressing the safety of bicycle lanes, tensions between bicyclists and other residents have never been higher. Proposed new bike lanes are hotly contested, espe-cially when they would reduce on-street parking, and many pedestrians say that bicyclists on sidewalks -- per-fectly legal in most parts of the city -- present a constant hazard to those on foot, including the elderly, disabled, and pets.

But the scooter issue seems to have city officials completely flummoxed. The two-wheeled powered vehicles have sprouted up everywhere around town, yet few people seem to understand that it is illegal to ride them on city sidewalks or without a helmet.

Scooters are dumped haphazardly along

city sidewalks, in alleyways, on bike paths, and even sometimes in the street creating hazards to vehicles or pedestrians. Many people find them to be an eyesore. Recently, dockless bikes have made a re-appearance, adding to the new problem of what is being referred to as “vehicle litter.”

photo—William G. Schulz--InTowner.

This Capital Bikeshare docking station on New Hampshire Ave. at 18th St., NW occupies a space in which parking would never be allowable.

Cont., COEXIST p. 4

Gay Pride Parade Reflects Great ProgressBy Phil Carney

Our neighborhood’s biggest annual event is the Pride parade. I was pleased

to see Deacon McCubbin, who in the 1970s started a small Pride block party at 20th and S Streets NW. I could not have imaged then that this little celebration would grow over the years to what we have today. During the month there are more Pride events than I can remember, plus special celebrations for youth, transgender, minorities, elderly;

an all-day Festival on Pennsylvania Avenue with the Capitol as a backdrop and, of course, our neighborhood parade.

Our parade had politicians, corporate participants, international participants, local businesses, and -- almost lost in the crowd -- were local groups and local folks. The big-gest contingent was sponsor Marriott with a float and hundreds of marchers.

I Cannot thank enough each person who worked with the Pride organization

-- volunteers, participants, DPW for their cleanup, and especially MPD. It really does take a village to create such a fun celebratory event. I was touched this year by the range of ages and diversity of participants and celebrants which so positively highlighted that our city is truly a welcoming place.

photo--Phil Carney.

CLICK HEREto continue article

Page 2 • The InTowner • June 2019

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Scooters Need to be Reined-in; Council Must Act

One of our lead stories this month revisits the matter of bikes and scooters, a topic we previously reported in October 2018. In light of the rapidly increasing use of motor-

ized scooter in DC since last year – and of the increased awareness by residents of hazards to pedestrians (not to say anything about hazards to users), we think right now is an appro-priate time for this commentator to also revisit the topic also.

We start with an excerpt from our July 2018 editorial:“All this discussion about bicycles brings to mind that there is even a bigger craze that

may soon overwhelm the sidewalks: motorized scooters. As noted in a May 17th Post report, “it’s one more thing to dodge as a pedestrian. . . .” We also shared the some reader comments from the May 18, 2018 web edition:

“I don’t really care if people want to ride a scooter, but any motorized transportation should not be allowed on pedestrian sidewalks.. they should be on the streets.. good luck with that” [effmayfield]; “They should follow the same rules as bikes, even motorized bikes (I mean motorized bicycles, not motorcycles . . .)” [junkyardog]; “Earlier this week, I was almost hit by a 20-something guy in a suit on one of the electric scooter rentals. I was walking on a sidewalk by Union Station and he buzzed past. He was going quite fast. Cyclists don’t generally bike on the sidewalks and neither should these motorized scoot-ers. I think this is just an accident waiting to happen” [elnicho].

Barely over a year later, those sentiments are being sounded load and clear, more and more. Unfortunately, the concerns being raised seem to be falling on deaf ears – in the Council and in the bureaucracy; to the extent that any official attention is being paid it appears to be with regard to the interaction between scooters and cars (same goes for bicycles). Pedestrians, especially when on sidewalks are the forgotten class.

As reported by Darrow Montgomery in the June 10th Washington City Paper, according to Terry Owens, DDOT’s public information officer, DC “has granted permits to six dock-less scooter companies: Bird, Jump, Lime, Lyft, Skip, and Spin.” [Further,] “ Owens says 420,000 scooter rides are completed in the District every month -- that’s around 14,000 every day.”

And yet, there are virtually no regulations or enforcement to ensure the safety of pedes-trians!

Should the solution simply be to ban them outright as our news story reports is the case in New York City and as the City Paper adds, “severely limited or outright banned in Austin, Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle”?

At this stage, given that it’s still a phenomenon in its infancy and the scooter (and motorized bikes) sector of the transportation industry needs time to mature by develop-ing “best practices” standards, among other imperatives (such as product design to ensure operator safety which seems to be absent with some of the companies putting those little monsters out on our streets), we believe it would be premature to legislate an outright ban.

Nevertheless, something must be done immediately. Since that is undoubtedly impos-sible for the City Council because it will be taking off for the summer in early July, until the members return in two months or so, the Mayor must get the heads of DDOT and the Metropolitan Police, along with their appropriate staff people (DDOT has special expertise with its Public Right of Way office) to implement regulatory provisions to the extent allowed pursuant to those agencies authority.

What needs to be done at a minimum is to implement stringent rules (with substantial fines for violating) to address the dangers to pedestrians of scooters speedily –- and, omi-nously. silently -- approaching from behind without sounding any warning in advance. As has been repeatedly called out not only by us and other media, but even more impor-tantly by regular neighborhood residents, the danger is extraordinary – and not just for seniors who have balance problems and who can at any second suddenly lurch slightly to one side which could well be the side where a scooter (or bicycle) is whizzing past and –- pow!, blood and broken bones all over.

Are we over dramatizing? Indeed not. Serious injuries could easily happen to any resi-dent living on one of our row house streets. Even we have had our close calls, as have others we know. In one reported instance the homeowner was emerging from the house which is very close to the sidewalk and starting to turn to the left when out of nowhere from the right came a speeding scooter which could not have even been seen until fully out on the sidewalk because of the bushes next to the entry. Scooter riders like that one seem to have no inkling about the need to be aware of hidden places from which humans will suddenly be on the sidewalk.

This is just one example of so many that can be shared., but it sheds a bright light on why action is needed asap and why further inaction by city leaders is simply dereliction of duty.

Page 3 • The InTowner • June 2019

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A Reader Comments on Our Recent Reporting of theLine Hotel Being Denied its $46 Million Tax Abatement

First, thanks for your excellent coverage of Attorney General Racine’s fast and decisive response to the inquiry by Council Member Silverman about the Line Hotel people being permitted by DOES to miss several of the rules governing the Hotel’s eligibil-ity for a $46 million tax abatement.  There is much credit to go around: to Council Members Silverman and Nadeau for asking the Attorney General; to Attorney General Racine for a fast and tight answer affirm-ing the legal requirements and informing DOES that they had not been met; and to

you for publishing the information and writ-ing a positive editorial celebrating the good news about the myriad accomplishments of the AG’s office. We can all take pride in these results: keep the big guys (and the too-easy-going officials) honest; attention to detail and public service by public servants in the Council and the AG’s office; and honest reporting and commenting.

Keep up the stellar work!Charlie Ellis

Dupont Circle

“the Lily Spandorf rendering has been hang-ing in our office for many years. It represents a vision she had in the 1950s of a plaza to cover the Connecticut Avenue underpass. One day about four years ago while visit-ing our office, former ANC Commissioner Michael Feldstein saw the rendering and suggested, “this is a great idea, we should do it!” He started setting up meetings around town and everyone loved the idea.”

[Editor’s Note: Our issue of last June fea-tured a detailed report about this project.]

The plaza and accompanying streetscape project, in partnership with the DC Department of Transportation (DDOT) are seen as a definite enhancement of eco-nomic opportunities and overall enhanced attractiveness for the area.

Neighbors are excited about the new green space that may host pop-ups, festivals, performances, movies, arts, farmers markets during the week in addition to Sundays) and other events activities.

The construction will cause disruption of the area for three to four years, but the end result will be worth it, in the view of many

with who we have interviewed.As noted by the BID in its on-line news-

letter, “This project is currently in the early design phase with an estimated completed date in 2023 or beyond. The Dupont Circle BID will work with DDOT and the ANC to keep stakeholders informed about com-munity meetings and public input forums.”

This project was a major reason for the creation of the Dupont Circle BID. Colleen Hawkins, its first director will be focused on attracting new retail and creating a shared

vision for enhancing the potential -– and developing excitement for -– the area.

[Editor’s Note: Our issue of last September featured a detailed report about the BID’s formation and priorities going forward.]

Market studies will be conducted to dis-cern what businesses are needed or wanted, whether the rents are competitive, whether the city can give tax breaks or incentives, especially to small businesses. “The new BID,” as stated in its on-line newsletter, “is taking a deep-dive into every sector of the Dupont Circle ego system via a series of roundtables.”

Long-time Dupont Circle Resident Joel is skeptical: “I fear that this BID is a case of form over substance. They will hang banners, post signs, conduct meetings that few attend, and plant flowers + use mon-ies to pay for staff and office, BUT the retail vacancy rate will remain high as will the rent along with decreasing customers.” Examples of this surely include businesses along the stretch of P Street just west of the Circle: the much relied upon former Fairfax Market, Rock Creek Clothing, and Fractured Prune. All three owners have stated there is only one reason they closed -- increased rent.

Michael Kain, however, sees it differently: “Rents are stable [in Dupont Circle] and are now among the lowest retail rents in the city [while] rents in other locations have increased. Dupont Circle landlords have reduced rents to entice very desirable ten-ants rather than holding out for the highest rate from a less desirable tenant. The BID is making efforts to recruit the type of retailer that will improve the quality of the neigh-borhood for the community.”

During our interview, he also indicated that the developers in new areas like The Yards in Southwest are luring businesses to their developments by offering economic incentives. Also, said Kain, Dupont Circle needs more residential housing; son Patrick especially emphasized the need for afford-able housing. And, lastly, Michael referred to the “Amazon affect,” an example being how even hair salons are being affected. The typical salon depends on product sales for

NORTH DUPONTFrom p. 1

Cont., NORTH DUPONT, p. 4

photo—Larry Ray—InTowner.

The Lily Spandorg artwork that graces the office wall at Kain & Associates.

photo—Larry Ray—InTowner.

The BID’s service area is depicted by that shown in dark blue.

Page 4 • The InTowner • June 2019

Celebrating 35 years

ANNIVERSARY SALE ❧ All Items 10-40% Off ❧ Feb. 15 - Mar. 2, 2019

half of their revenue, but instead of patrons making purchases they use their smart-phones to take photos of the products and then go on Amazon to search for bargains.er via Amazon.

As noted on the website of the DC BID Council, “In 1996, the DC City Council passed enabling legislation for business improvement districts (BIDs) and since then, eleven BIDs have been created in DC, and addi-tional BIDs are being formed. The BIDs contribute to the city in many ways. The most visible is the cleaning and safety staff that BIDs provide. They also contribute in many other significant but less visible ways. BIDs work closely with existing businesses to help them grow and thrive, and recruit new stores and restaurants to their areas. BIDs market their areas, organize community building events, provide homeless outreach services, and activate and beautify public space.”

The Dupont Circle BID’s April 25th retail roundtable panel discussion session attended by area residents and other stake-holders featured Shop Made in DC’s Stacey Price and The Urban Partnership’s Rich Bradley discuss trends facing retailers, chal-lenges in this market, and share feedback and best practices for success.

Richard Bradley, the founder of the DowntownDC BID (the very first one estab-lished, described the steps needed to cre-ate a North Dupont Circle “destination.” First step is that there be retailers offering merchandise that shoppers will want to purchase; second, provide excellent service; third, to create “the experience”; and fourth, the aspirational fourth step of “transforma-tion.” The result will be that shoppers, tour-ists, and neighbors will then seek out North Dupont Circle as their frequent destination.

“People are looking for clean, safe, friendly and well managed space. Everyone includ-ing property owners must be in the game to create a common marketplace.” One of the biggest problems is absentee landlords.

An example of this type of retail might be Shop Made In DC located at 19th and N Streets, NW. Owner Stacy Price speak-ing at the BID roundtable described her establishment as an incubator for entrepre-

neurs; people frequent this shop not for the discounts but for the experience of buying hand-crafted in DC products. Her return customer rate is 70%.

A month later, on May 20th, the BID held another business roundtable panel discussion, this time the focus was on res-taurants.

One of the panelists was Eden Raskin Jenkins of the Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW). She outlined the challenges of restaurants begin-ning with rising rents, tips and wages, and the lack of a qualified work force. RAMW works to help neighborhood restaurants cope with the strains gen-erated by the booming DC economy and with initiatives that will lead to solutions. One initiative its Pro-Start program that provides sources for basic culinary skills training at three DC public schools. Another example was its support for the vast numbers of DC restaurant workers who fought to overturn the Initiative 77 referen-dum that, had it taken effect, would have drastically reduced their actual

shift time income.[Editor’s Note: To fully understand

the restaurant workers concerns, see our September 2018 editorial published shortly prior to the DC Council’s meeting when it was to consider action to overturn Initiative 77 that had been approved in a June 2018 special election.]

NORTH DUPONTFrom p. 3

photo—Larry Ray—InTowner.

The attendees at the recent restaurants roundtable were fully engaged with the panelists.

photo--courtesy FRESHFARM at Dupont.

The Dupont Circle FRESHFARM market sets up in the two blocks of 20th St., NW from Mass. Ave. to north of Q St. and in the adjacent parking lot in the first block every Sunday of the year between 8:30am & 1:30pm, rain/snow or shine.

CLICK HEREto continue article

A frequent complaint from resi-dents and pedestrians is that the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is not enforcing laws on the books that say cyclists and scooter riders must obey the same traffic laws as automobile drivers. The InTowner has witnessed scooter riders on the sidewalk without helmets whizzing past DC police officers who seem not to notice or care about the illegal activity.

But Third District Police Commander Stuart Emerman told The InTowner, “MPD enforces bike laws through education as well as enforcement.

“What we do have is an increase in non-traditional vehicles and pedestrians using our roadways,” Emerman continued, ref-erencing, in part, scooter riders. “Cyclists, pedestrians, and motorists all need to work within the laws and exhibit patience and safe operating practices to make sure that

everyone gets home without injury. It is a collective effort of all that use the roadway.”

Emerman further stated that “DMV [Department of Motor Vehicles] handles all of the notices of infraction once they are written. We do not keep stats on how many people we educate versus issue tickets to.”

With this in mind, The InTowner, then, contacted officials at DMV for answers to the following questions:

If bikes are not licensed in the district, how are these citations enforced?;

Do you have statistics that show the num-ber of bicyclists cited for moving violations?;

Are bicyclists cited only for infractions on city streets? In other words, can they be cited for violations while riding on sidewalks where that is legal?;

What about motorized scooters and simi-lar vehicles? Without licenses, how do you enforce traffic laws for operators? Do you keep or are you planning to keep statistics on these violations?;

Unfortunately, as of publication time, despite having submitted these questions well in advance of deadline, no answers had yet been received. [Ed. Note: if we do

receive information in response to these questions we will post on the web page version of this lead story]

Cyclists and scooter riders have long insisted that they are the endan-gered parties on city streets, both by reckless automobile, bus, and truck drivers, as well as city officials being seemingly’ lackadaisical about efforts to protect them and make the city more bicycle friendly, notwithstand-ing the creation of bike lanes. –- though more recently in response to Mayor Bowser’s push to encourage the use of bicycles there has been a noticeable effort to implement her policy, especially at DDOT where there is now a specialized bicycle unit staffed by committed personnel.

DC residents are not alone in voicing their concerns about safety

– especially the safety of pedestrians on side-walks. Other cities around the country have cracked down on dockless rental scooters. In New York City, for example, the scooters are not permitted because of the dangers they would present to riders, pedestrians, and vehicle drivers. The mayor of Nashville, David Briley, has threatened to ban the scooters in his city if scooter companies won’t address the same safety situations that frequently rile DC residents.

Copyright © 2019 InTowner Publishing Corp. & William G. Schulz. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, except as provided by 17 U.S.C. §§ 107 & 108 (“fair use”).

COEXISTFrom p. 1

photo—William G. Schulz--InTowner.

photo—unidentified passerby.

An apparent rare instance of a bicyclist being ticketed for a traffic violation.

photo—courtesy DC Dep’t. of Transportation.

Seen on Q Street a few doors west of 14th is the bike “corral” for which DDOT issued a permit to The Bike Rack to install and maintain. Because these bike parking spaces, upon review by DDOT, are deemed to be the kind of undertaking that helps to encourage the use of bikes, there is no charge for these per-mits; the only requirement is that the applicant picks up the stanchions & related accessories from a city facility in Southeast and be responsible for the installation.

Page 5 • The InTowner • June 2019

FREER GALLERY OF ART Jefferson Dr. at 12th St., SW

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Whistler in Watercolor: Lovely Little Games

(through October 6, 2019)

Lovers of James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) and of the medium of watercolor

have a delightful summer surprise ahead of them at the Freer, the repository of the larg-est, finest, and most comprehensive collec-tion of his work anywhere in the world. The exhibition’s subtitle, “Lovely Little Games,” comes from a comment made by Whistler: “I have done delightful things and have a wonderful game to play.” These gems which might appear at first glance to be merely charming jests become ever more lovely through close and repeated viewing

The exhibition and the accompanying catalog trace a little known period in the career of the flamboyant expat American artist when, out of a mixture of financial desperation and marketing genius, he turned to this delicate medium to reinvent himself. The Freer owns over 50 watercolors of which 40 are on display along with drawings, etch-ings, pastels, and oils. Due to their fragility the watercolors have never been fully exhib-ited and are unlikely to be offered in these numbers again.

We have Whistler’s enemies to thank for the artist’s turn to the medium in 1880. Two pivotal events occurred, the first being the falling-out with his patron, industrial-ist Frederick Leyland, over the extravagant decoration of the Peacock Room in 1877. [Ed. Note: See our review on page 8 of the August 2015 issue pdf.]

The second event was the expensive libel suit against critic John Ruskin a year later. While Freer visitors will be familiar with the Peacock Room, a permanent installation, and its back story, the Ruskin trial and its effects, is much less well known and worth recounting.

The influential Victorian critic, as I’ve indicated in my previous reviews of Tintoretto [Apr. 2019 issue pdf, p.5] and the American Pre-Raphaelites [May 2019 issue pdf, p.5], is being celebrated this year on the 200th anniversary of his

birth. While a great champion of those art-ists, the prickly Ruskin was anything but an admirer of Whistler.

In 1877 Ruskin published a letter describ-ing an exhibition which included Whistler’s work. He complained about the lack of fin-ish, particularly in Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket from 1875: “I have seen, and heard, much of Cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” Understandably concerned about how this devastating judgment from the leading art critic of the time would impact sales, Whistler decided to sue Ruskin for libel.

The case was heard in court the following year. Ruskin’s doctors declared him unfit to appear in court, so the Pre-Raphaelite painter Edward Burne-Jones took his place. Over the course of two days, many figures from the London art world gave evidence, while the newspapers discussed the meaning and value of art. Whistler’s painting had subverted the widely-held Victorian notion that art should have some moral or didactic purpose; indeed, to some it barely seemed to represent anything at all.

In the end, Whistler won the case, but was awarded only a farthing (a penny) in dam-ages and had to pay court costs. Along with his unpaid expenses for the Peacock Room he went bankrupt. His series of “Nocturnes” paintings, brought into the court upside down and lampooned in the press, were rendered unsalable. The Ruskin trial trans-formed Whistler into a celebrity, but an impoverished one.

Bowed but not defeated, he accepted a three-month commission from the Fine Art Society of London to produce a set of 12 etchings of Venice. Whistler stayed for over a year, working furiously. On his return to

London he had produced 50 etchings, 100 pastels, oil paintings, and several watercolors. The artist would have known of Ruskin’s great love of the city as well as of his dis-paragement of both etching and watercolor media which makes the three works on dis-play (a pastel, an etching, and a watercolor) doubly ironic.

To restart his career upon his return to London, Whistler turned to watercolor -- small, easily salable and por-table. “Mr. Whistler is about to surprise both his friends and his detractors by appearing in the new character of the water-colour artist,” a friendly reporter wrote in 1881. Since even hostile crit-ics (excepting Ruskin of course) had acknowl-edged his gift for cap-turing subtle graduations of London’s atmosphere, it is no surprise that he announced his return with London Bridge of 1881.

Painted in a glowing gray and gold palette, the watercolor recalls J.M.W. Turner’s expressive images of bridges on the Thames. Excellence in watercolor was most often associated with a long tradition of British artists and most notably with Turner (1775–1851) in the first half of the 19th century. Whistler’s embrace of watercolor allowed the expatriate artist to present himself as the heir of that great artist and the tradition. As if to clinch this point, Whistler has planted a carefully painted British flag on the pier in London Bridge.

At the start of his career two decades earlier,

Whistler had used watercolor for preparatory studies for paintings or etchings. On a trip to Amsterdam in 1858 he made a watercolor sketch which opens the show alongside the etchings made from it. Although Whistler liked to disavow connections to the great artistic traditions of the past, his work betrays a lifelong engagement with them.

The Kitchen (1858) depicts a woman per-forming domestic tasks at the end of a gal-ley kitchen framed by the doorway. The composition looks back for inspiration to Dutch genre scenes by Pieter de Hooch or Emanuel Witte. Over two decades later Whistler returns to the subject in Pink Note--Shelling Peas (1882-84). A doorway frames a country girl shelling peas within a walled garden. Once again, architectural elements structure the composition; this time he has moved from the dark colors of the Dutch interiors to the Impressionist light effects of dappled sunlight through green foliage.

Like his fellow artist and friend, Oscar Wilde, Whistler took a dim view of depict-ing landscape regarding nature as “a poor creature . . . and, artistically often offensive.” Nature had to be controlled and ruthlessly pared down to become aesthetically interest-ing or satisfying. But the sea was different, no doubt because seascapes were intrinsically reductive, consisting of the most fundamen-tal elements of nature: earth, air, water, and light. Whistler’s seascapes were often organized in three-part compositions of sky, sea, and shore as we see in such works as the dulcet Note in Blue and Opal--Jersey and the dramatic Blue and Silver--Choppy Channel.

The “Nocturnes,” represented here by four watercolors of Holland and two oils of London, offer a fitting conclusion to the show. The Freer curators call these works

Whistler’s most origi-nal contribution to 19th century painting. While precipitating his critical and financial woes, these ephemeral images of urban darkness also made him a hero in avant garde circles and attractive to the wealthy American collector Charles Lang Freer who appreciated their “refinement and mystery.”

Curator Lee Glazer and her collaborators Emily Jacobson, Blythe McCarthy, and Katherine Roeder have done an exemplary job bring-ing to light a neglected

aspect of Whistler’s art. Their exhibition and sumptuous accompanying catalog are a must for lovers of watercolor and Whistler.

(The watercolors mentioned but not illus-trated in this review can be found on the Freer website’s Whistler page, though they were inexplicably not made available for this review.)

*Joseph R. Phelan is a Washington based author and teacher. He is the founding edi-tor of Artcyclopedia.com, the fine art search

engine. He has taught at the Catholic University of America and the University of Maryland University College.

Copyright © 2019 InTowner Publishing Corp. & Joseph R. Phelan. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited, except as pro-vided by 17 U.S.C. §107 (“fair use”).

Art & Culture

Whistler, Southend Pier (1882–’84).

Whistler, Pink Note—Shelling Peas (1882–’84).

Whistler, Chelsea Children (ca. 1897).

Whistler, St. Ives: Cornwall (1883-’84).

Whistler, Blue and Silver—Choppy Channel (ca. 1893-’97).