Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

 

YMSM 516
The Sea, Pourville, No. 1

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1899
Collection: The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY
Accession Number: 1971.58
Medium: oil
Support: wood
Size: 178 x 259 mm (7 x 10 1/4")
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: none

The Sea, Pourville, No. 1

Titles

Several titles have been suggested:

  • Possibly 'The Sea, Pourville' (1905, ISSPG). 1
  • 'The Sea, Pourville, I' (1920, Anderson Galleries). 2
  • 'The Sea, Pourville, No. 1' (1980, YMSM). 3

The preferred title is 'The Sea, Pourville, No. 1': the numbering distinguishes this from The Sea, Pourville, No. 2 [YMSM 519].

Description

The Sea, Pourville, No. 1, The Hyde Collection
The Sea, Pourville, No. 1, The Hyde Collection

A seascape in horizontal format. The brown beach crosses the foreground at a slight diagonal upwards from lower left. The green sea is flecked with white waves, breaking vigorously on the beach. Glimpses of pale blue sky show between scurrying clouds.

Site

Pourville, near Dieppe, France. Whistler painted numerous seascapes there, including Green and Silver: The Great Sea [YMSM 518], The Sea, Pourville, No. 2 [YMSM 519], The Sea, Pourville [YMSM 520], The Shore, Pourville [YMSM 521], Grey and Silver: Pourville [YMSM 522], Grey and Gold: High Tide at Pourville [YMSM 523], and Blue and Silver: Boat Entering Pourville [YMSM 524]).

Notes:

1: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the late James McNeill Whistler, First President of The International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, New Gallery, Regent Street, London, 1905 (cat. no. 64).

2: Auction, Anderson Galleries, New York, 5-6 February 1920 (lot 115).

3: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 516).

Last updated: 5th December 2020 by Margaret