A Grey Note: Village Street dates from between January and March 1884. 1 It was painted during a three-month visit to Cornwall, England, made by Whistler with his 'pupils', Mortimer Luddington Menpes (1860-1938) and Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1942).

On 4 January Whistler told Ernest George Brown (1851-1915) that he was 'tremendously busy with lots of pictures of all kinds.' 2 Whistler described his work to a collector, Alfred Chapman (1839-1917) as 'oil paintings - little beauties.' 3

A Grey Note: Village Street, The Hunterian

This painting was exhibited on his return, in his one-man show of 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1884 (cat. no. 41).