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Cavalier (from Sketchbook)

James McNeill Whistler · 1854–55 · The Met, New York

Public domain · CC0 · $0.001,904 × 2,867 px · 5.5 MP
Prints gallery-sharp up to6.3 × 9.6 inat 300 dpi, uncropped · poster-sharp to 12.7 × 19.1 in at 150 dpi

The download is the Met's own open-access file, served by the Met. Big file — give it a minute.

Free · $0.00Cavalier (from Sketchbook) by James McNeill Whistler, 1854–55
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Cavalier (from Sketchbook) in a frame
16 × 20 in
Cavalier (from Sketchbook)James McNeill Whistler · 1854–55
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1 · Size

2 · Frame

3 · Light

4 · Hang it right

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The size chart

How big can you print it?

Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.

FrameEffective dpiVerdictCrops
8 × 10 in238Sharp up close17%
11 × 14 in173Poster sharp15%
12 × 16 in158Poster sharp11%
16 × 20 in119Fine across a room17%
18 × 24 in105Fine across a room11%
24 × 36 in79Too softnothing
30 × 40 in63Too soft11%
Will it fit over your couch? Put this one on your wall, to scale — crop or mat, frame size, hang height and the order.

The ticket

Cavalier (from Sketchbook) is a work on paper by James McNeill Whistler (American, Lowell, Massachusetts 1834–1903 London), dated 1854–55. Brownish-black ink on blue laid paper. Size on the museum record: 4 x 2 9/16 in. (10.2 x 6.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its The American Wing collection — Gift of Margaret C. Buell, Helen L. King, and Sybil A. Walk, 1970.

The Met catalogs Cavalier (from Sketchbook) as a brownish-black ink on blue laid paper by James McNeill Whistler. The museum dates it 1854–55; it sits in the The American Wing department as accession 1970.121.64. Spend a minute with the composition before choosing a size: notice where the eye lands first and where it rests. The Met's scan measures 1,904 × 2,867 pixels, which prints about 6.3 × 9.6 in at 300 dpi and 12.7 × 19.1 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Because it runs tall, it wants a vertical frame; compare the crop percentage across sizes before you choose. It is close to monochrome, so the frame sets the mood: black for contrast, white for air, or a thin natural wood for warmth. Works on paper are quiet. Print near the original's scale instead of blowing it up, and keep it out of direct sun like the museum does. Add a small picture light and keep the centre of the piece around 57 inches from the floor; those two choices make a reproduction look deliberate.

The Met released its scan under CC0, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 1,904 × 2,867 pixels — 5.5 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 6.3 × 9.6 in. That is bigger than the work on paper itself, which measures about 2.6 × 4 in — the file holds more detail than you can see standing in front of the original.Works on paper are quiet. Print near the original’s size rather than blowing it up, mat it generously, and keep it out of direct sun — the same rules the museum follows for the real one.

On the receipt

Artist
James McNeill Whistler
Date
1854–55
Medium
Brownish-black ink on blue laid paper
Size
4 x 2 9/16 in. (10.2 x 6.5 cm)
Museum
The Met · The American Wing
Accession
1970.121.64
License
Public domain · CC0 1.0
Source
Museum record ↗