Technique

Blue and Silver: Boat Entering Pourville, Freer Gallery of Art

The panel was prepared with a grey ground. The scene was painted with a tiny brush in muted colours, but in a bold and dashing style, with a streaky blending of colours in details like the boat coming in to harbour. While brushstrokes swept smoothly right across the panel to depict sky and sea, the figures were painted with crude blobs and short, sharp dashes. Curry describes the technique as an 'extremely loose and unusually smudgy handling of pigment.' 1

Conservation History

It was cleaned and 'resurfaced' in 1923, cleaned and varnished in 1937, and resurfaced and cradled in 1938. It was again resurfaced in 1952-1953. 2

Frame

The frame was regilded in 1960.