Beach Scene

probably 1885

James McNeill Whistler

Associated Names
James McNeill Whistler

Artist, American, 1834 - 1903

The image shows an aerial view of a sandy terrain with a horizon line separating the sky from a strip of water where there is a dark shape resembling a ship. The brushstrokes are soft, creating a blurred effect. The color palette is mainly sandy beiges and taupes with darker spots indicating people and structures dispersed across the area. Human figures are mostly silhouettes. In the distance, there is a suggestion of a building and clusters of people. The tones of the building blend with the surroundings, directing focus towards the distant clusters of activity.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Miss Rosalind Birnie Philip; (P & D Colnaghi and Co., Ltd., London); Mrs. Frances L. Evans, Oxfordshire; (sale, Christie's, London, 19 May 1972, no. 37). Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon; gift 1991 to NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1991

  • Art for the Nation: Gifts in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1991, 220-221, color repro.

1993

  • The Great Age of British Watercolors 1750-1880, Royal Academy of Arts, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1993, no. 325.

1994

  • James McNeill Whistler, Tate Gallery, London; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994-1995, no. 144, as Green and pearl - La plage, Dieppe.

Bibliography

1986

  • Mellon 1986, 122, fig. 9.

1991

  • Art for the Nation: Gifts in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art. Exh. cat. National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1991: p.220.

1993

  • Wilton, Andrew and Anne Lyles. The Great Age of British Watercolours 1750-1880. Exh. cat. Royal Academy of Arts, London; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1993: no. 325.

1994

  • James McNeill Whistler. Exh. cat. Tate Gallery, London; Musée d'Orsay, Paris; National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1994-1995: no. 144.

1995

  • MacDonald, Margaret F. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours: A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University Press, 1995, no. 1025.

Inscriptions

lower right in watercolor: Whistler signature; upper left verso in graphite: (N 20) y / A11723; center verso in graphite: N20 y; lower left verso in graphite: No. 29 [crossed out]

Wikidata ID

Q64580667

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