The Seashore F1902.144a-c: Curatorial Analysis | Whistler in Watercolor

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: To 1902
William Marchant & Co., London, to 1902 [1]

From 1902 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from William Marchant & Co. in 1902 [2]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

Notes:

[1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 18, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

[2] See note 1.

[3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

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)

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The Seashore

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