Nocturne: Amsterdam in Winter

A nocturnal view of Amsterdam in winter with figures skating in the center and foreground, and a building and trees indicated in distance; signed with the butterfly at lower right.

Maker(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
1882
Medium
Watercolor on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 20.3 x 27.3 cm (8 x 10 3/4 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1904.81a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Watercolor

Keywords
United States, winter
Provenance

To 1904
John James Cowan (1846-1936), to 1904 [1]

From 1904 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from John James Cowan in 1904 [2]

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

Notes:
[1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 19, 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)

John James Cowan (C.L. Freer source) 1846-1936
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Description

A nocturnal view of Amsterdam in winter with figures skating in the center and foreground, and a building and trees indicated in distance; 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. .
  • Kenneth Myers. Mr. Whistler's Gallery: Pictures at an 1884 Exhibition. Washington. cat. 22, p. 47.
  • Mortimer Menpes. Whistler As I Knew Him. London. p. 82.
  • Kenneth Myers. Mr. Whistler's Gallery: the art of displaying art. New York, November 2003. p. 147.
  • David Park Curry. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1984. p. 191, pl. 117.
  • Elisabeth Luther Cary. The Works of James McNeill Whistler: A Study., 1st ed. New York, 1907. No. 239, p. 194.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
Whistler in Watercolor
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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