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  • The Seashore
  • The Seashore

The Seashore

A view of the sea and sand, with sailboats in the distance and small figures along the shore; signed with the butterfly at lower right.
Maker nationality and date
1834-1903
Date(s)
ca. 1885
Medium
Watercolor on paper
Dimension(s)
H x W: 21.5 x 12.8 cm (8 7/16 x 5 1/16 in)
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Object Number
F1902.144a-c
Production location
France, Dieppe
Theme
Seascape
Signature(s)
Blue-gray butterfly near center at bottom edge
Provenance
Exhibition History
Goupil Gallery, Nocturnes, Marines and Chevalet Pieces, March through April, 1892
Copley Society of Art, Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, February 23 to March 22, 1904
Palais de l'École des Beaux-Art, Exposition des Oeuvres de James McNeill Whistler, May 1905
Freer Gallery of Art, American Paintings, Pastels, and Water Colors, and Drawings. J.A.McN. Whistler, May 2, 1923 to January 7, 1924
Selected Curatorial Remarks

1. Lee Glazer, 2018:
The "circa" assigned to the date is because the site of production is uncertain. We follow MacDonald in naming Dieppe; if this location can be confirmed, a firm date of 1885 should be assigned.

2. Reproduced in Studio in 1902, Pg. 2 as The Sea Shore.

Selected Published References
1. Curry: James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art, Pg. 189
The Sea Shore demonstrates Whistler's operating opinion that nature alone was incapable of painting a picture. The generalized scene compares to any particular beach as an idealized Greek statue related to the average citizen of Athens. Whistler divided the paper into three registers. He made a visual transition from sky to sea with a trio of sails that break the far horizon line. Three figures on shore break the division between sea and sand. Two figures hold parasols painted the same red and gray as the boats' sails.
Catalogue Raisonne number
M1031
MacDonald Catalogue number
Previous owner(s)
William Marchant & Co. (C.L. Freer source) (flourished 1907-1925)
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
SI Usage Statement

Usage conditions apply

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