Titles

Whistler's original title is not known, although the title may be based on his, as remembered by his executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958):

• 'The Sea Shore – Dieppe' (1935, Glasgow). 1
• 'The Sea Shore, Dieppe' (1980, YMSM). 2

The punctuation was changed for the 1980 catalogue. 'The Sea Shore, Dieppe' is the preferred title.

Description

The Sea Shore, Dieppe, The Hunterian

A horizontal format seascape painted with delicate shades from cream to lilac in the cloudy sky, and pale green, turquoise and mauve in the sea. The beach in the foreground is grey, cream and beige, painted in short, uneven, squiggly strokes, and with the grey underpaint of the panel showing. A few straggly green spikes of foliage appear right in the foreground. About four women in white, grey and black are standing or walking by the sea. A large cargo ship is on the horizon in the centre, a ship – possibly a ferry – with sails as well as a funnel – is nearer and to right, and a small yacht between them, much nearer to the coast.

Site

The coast near the port of Dieppe, France. On their honeymoon the Whistlers spent two weeks in Brittany before travelling south to the Loire Valley, much of their time being spent in Dieppe, staying at the Hotel de la Plage.