Nocturne en bleu et or was first recorded in 1888, but since most of Whistler's Nocturnes were painted in the 1870s, the most likely date is between 1872 and 1876.

Altogether, four Nocturnes were exhibited at the Exposition Brown, Boudin, Caillebotte, Lepine, Morisot, Pissarro, Renoir, Sisley, Whistler, Galerie Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1888: two called ‘Nocturne en bleu et argent’ (cat. nos. 39 and 42), one ‘Nocturne en bleu et or’ (cat. no. 46), and one ‘Nocturne en noir et or’ (cat. no. 51). Until now, the ‘Nocturne en bleu et or’ had been identified as Nocturne: Blue and Gold - Old Battersea Bridge [YMSM 140], which, however, is now thought to have been exhibited in 1888 as one of the two Nocturnes in Blue and Silver (see Nocturne en bleu et argent [YMSM 149]). This means that, at the moment, there is no other persuasive identification for the ‘Nocturne en noir et or’.