Provenance

• 1898/1902: Carmen Rossi (b. ca 1878, Paris;
• 1903: sold by her at auction, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 25 November 1903 (lot 1) as 'Nocturne à Venise: l'église de Saint-George-Majeur', and bought by William Stephen Marchant (1868-1925), London art dealer, for Richard Albert Canfield (1855-1914), Providence, RI, for 18,500 francs;
• 1914: sold by him to M. Knoedler & Co., New York dealers, March 1914;
• 1914/1915: sold by Knoedler's to Anna Blaksley Barnes (Mrs William H. Bliss) (1851-1935), New York;
• 1935: by descent to her daughter Mildred Barnes (Mrs Robert Bliss) (1879-1969), Dumbarton Oaks, Washington, D.C.;
• 1942: sold by Mrs Robert Woods Bliss to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for $9,000.

According to Whistler's sister-in-law, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958), ' "Nocturne Blue & Silver"- the Lagoon Venice' was 'extracted' by Whistler's model Carmen Rossi from his studio in Paris. 1

Carmen Rossi was Whistler's model for many years. She was suspected of stealing drawings and paintings from the studio (see Rose et or: La Napolitaine [YMSM 505]) but this was not proven, and Whistler was so fond of her that he never took action against her, although he attempted (unsuccessfully) to do so against the dealers who bought things from her.

The painting was sold by Carmen Rossi at the Hôtel Drouot, 25 November 1903 (lot 1) and bought by William Marchant for the collector and gambler R. A. Canfield. Its provenance thereafter is well established.

Exhibitions

• 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no.67) as 'Nocturne in Blue and Silver "The Lagoon" – Venice'.

It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.