Provenance

• 1884: recorded as sold by Messrs Dowdeswell to Edward John Poole (b. ca 1848) .
• Before 1902: acquired by Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) ;
• 1902: sold in June to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) , Detroit;
• 1919: bequeathed to the Freer Gallery of Art.

Details of provenance are given in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 897).

Exhibitions

• 1884: probably 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1884 (cat. no. 35) as 'Violet and amber – Tea'.
• 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 205) as 'Petit Déjeuner – Note in Opal'.

The Daily News on 21 May 1884 called it an 'essay in smudge'.

By the terms of Freer's will the work cannot be lent to another venue.