Nocturne in Grey and Gold: Chelsea Fish Shop may have dated from 1885, and certainly before its first exhibition in 1886. 1

Alan Summerly Cole (1846-1934) noted in his diary on 26 November 1885 that Whistler was 'Doing new work by painting at night for night effects', which may have included this painting. 2

Most of Whistler's Nocturnes date from the 1870s, including Chelsea subjects such as Nocturne: Grey and Gold - Chelsea Snow [YMSM 174] and Nocturne: Trafalgar Square - Snow [YMSM 173]. Although Whistler painted a few Nocturnes in the 1880s, including Nocturne in Blue and Silver: The Lagoon,Venice [YMSM 212] and Nocturne: Blue and Gold - St Mark's, Venice [YMSM 213] in Italy; and three in London (Nocturne: Chelsea [YMSM 235], Nocturne: Silver and Opal - Chelsea [YMSM 309], and Orange Woman [YMSM 310]), no others are known to have been painted as late as 1885.