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(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
ca. 1885
Medium
Watercolor on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 21.5 x 12.8 cm (8 7/16 x 5 1/16 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1902.144a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Watercolor

Keywords
beach, boat, cloud, ocean, seascape, United States
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.

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
William Marchant & Co. (C.L. Freer source) flourished 1907-1925

Description

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.

Published References
  • Kerry Roeder. Whistler in Watercolor. Washington. .
  • Margaret F. MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolours : A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, 1995. .
  • Untitled. p. 2.
  • Burns A. Stubbs, Freer Gallery of Art. Paintings, pastels, drawings, prints, and copper plates by and attributed to American and European artists, together with a list of original Whistleriana in the Freer Gallery of Art. Occasional Papers Series, vol. 1 Washington. p. 18.
  • David Park Curry. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1984. p. 189, pl. 113.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
Whistler in Watercolor
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