1. Lee Glazer, 2018:
This painting (as well F1902.169) was given away by Whistler to an unnamed "elderly lady" and then reacquired by the artist for his 1884 exhibition "Notes-Harmonies-Nocturnes" at Dowdeswell. He wrote to Walter Dowdeswell in early May 1884:
"Cannot stop now to say more than that among things of I supposed of [sic] no importance I had given away, I trace two water color drawings meant for our Show!!!
"One of a long pier at Southend
"The other a little evening of Erith -
"Smoky "lurid" sky -
"They look ragged enough - and hence mistake - but little beauties in their frames - By chance discovered had been sold to you, happily, by an elderly [lady?] into whose hands they came, so thats all right I hope -
"Here are their frames waiting for them, so do send back at once - and the little sum, five or six pounds you paid for the small collection, we will have to put down to me as one of my charities!"
2. Glazer, Jacobson, McCarthy, Roeder, wall label, 2019:
While traditional landscapes held little interest for Whistler, he claimed, "The sea to me, is, and always was, most fascinating!" Rendered with simplicity, his seascapes of Southend, a popular seaside destination south of London, rely on broad washes of color with sparse detail. Whistler was a master at creating a mixture of pigments that produced a tonally balanced palette. His seascapes were often organized in a three-part composition of sky, sea, and shore.
1. Curry: James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art, Pg. 184
Grey and Silver: Pier, Southend argues for the holistic nature of Whistler's art. The reticent tonalities here achieved in watercolor approach those of Whistler's earlier etchings, such as Long Lagoon [F1905.5]. The very familiarity of the composition, with its elegant network of dark lines thrown out over a stretch of neutral sky and water, serves as evidence that Whistler applied a consistent vision to different subjects from different sites rendered in different media.
2. "Mr. Whistler's Exhibition," Standard, May 19, 1884
"Mr. Whistler's work this year is unusually carried in its apparent themes. All sorts of objects are pressed into the service of his brush–Southend pier [no. 62], the Cornish coast, a young woman dressed in a parasol and a red headgear [no. 65], a grisette reading a French novel [no. 16], a fog in Piccadilly [no. 9], a shop in Chelsea [no. 38]."
The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections..
International Image Interoperability Framework