Grey and Silver–Purfleet

River view with buildings and vessels along the shore in the distance; a clouded sky; signed with the butterfly at lower right.

Maker(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
1881-1883
Medium
Watercolor on paper
Dimensions
H x W: 16.2 x 22.2 cm (6 3/8 x 8 3/4 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1902.117a-c
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Watercolor

Keywords
cloud, river, United States
Provenance

From 1902 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Company of the Butterfly, London, in 1902 [1]

From 1920
Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]

Notes:

[1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 17, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Society of the Butterfly [Company of the Butterfly] was James McNeill Whistler's London business through which he sold his works.

[2] 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
Company of the Butterfly (C.L. Freer source) 1897-1903

Description

River view with buildings and vessels along the shore in the distance; a clouded sky; signed with the butterfly at lower right.

Inscription(s)

Verso: Thames- near Erith / Butterfly signature

Published References
  • Kerry Roeder. Whistler in Watercolor. Washington. .
  • Unknown. Untitled article. .
  • Unknown. Untitled article. .
  • Unknown. Untitled article. .
  • Unknown. Untitled article. .
  • Margaret F. MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolours : A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, 1995. .
  • 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.
  • Kenneth Myers. Mr. Whistler's Gallery: Pictures at an 1884 Exhibition. Washington. cat. 19, p. 44.
  • David Park Curry. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1984. p. 185, pl. 107.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
Whistler in Watercolor
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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