The Bathing Posts, Brittany dates from the summer of 1893. 1

The Bathing Posts, Brittany, The Hunterian

In July 1893 Whistler and his wife were touring in Brittany and were not back in Paris until mid-September. On 17 August Whistler, writing from Perros Guirec on the north coast of Brittany, complained to his son, Charles Hanson, that it was too hot for painting: 'I came in the hope of being able to find a picture that might bring money - but the weather has been hopelessly staring bright & hot - So far it is all disappointment.' 2 According to the Pennells, the trip to Brittany in 1893 was 'not altogether a successful journey. Nature had gone back on him, he told me ... the weather was for tourists - the sea for gold-fish in a bowl - the studio was better than staring at a sea of tin.' 3

Despite this, he definitely did paint seascapes in Brittany including Violet and Blue: The Little Bathers, Perros-Guirec [YMSM 382], Violet and Silver: A Deep Sea [YMSM 411], Dark Blue and Silver [YMSM 412], and Violet and Blue: Among the Rollers [YMSM 413].