Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death in 1903 and bequeathed to his ward and executrix, Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958) ;
• 1958: bequeathed by Miss R. Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Exhibitions

• 1884: Possibly 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1884 (cat. no. 37) as 'The Green Headland'.

Cliffs and Breakers could possibly have been the oil exhibited by Messrs Dowdeswell in 1884 (cat. no. 37) as 'The Green Headland'. 1 However, there is really very little headland showing in Cliffs and Breakers, so The Green Headland [YMSM 279] has been catalogued separately.