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Titles
Several possible titles have been suggested:
- Possibly 'Nocturne in Blue and Gold' (1875, Society of French Artists). 1
- 'Nocturne de "Battersea Grey & Gold"' (Whistler, 1887). 2
- 'Nocturne Grey & Silver' (1892, Whistler). 3
- 'Nocturne' (1894, Petit). 4
- Probably 'Westminster Palace in Fog' (1907, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh). 5
- Probably 'Nocturne' (1902, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh). 6
- 'Nocturne: Grey and Silver' (1980, YMSM). 7
'Nocturne: Grey and Silver' is the preferred title.
Description
Nocturne: Grey and Silver, Philadelphia Museum of Art
A view across a river on a very dark night, in horizontal format. Buildings, including a clock-tower, on the far bank, are reflected softly in the water.
Site
The river Thames in London. The title given to the painting in 1897, 'Westminster Palace in Fog', may be correct, and the subject Westminster Palace. 8 However, the clock-tower is too much blurred by fog and darkness to be identified. The then owner, Theodore Duret, appears to have called the subject Battersea in 1892, but the site was not confirmed by Whistler. 9
Notes:
1: 12th Exhibition, Society of French Artists, Deschamps Gallery, London, 1876 (cat. no. 56).
2: Whistler to T. Duret, [April 1887], GUW #07938.
3: Whistler to D. C. Thomson, 4 January 1892, GUW #08214
4: Galerie George Petit, Paris, 19 March 1894 (lot 42)
5: Second Annual Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1897 (cat. no. 238).
6: A Loan Exhibition of Paintings at the Carnegie Institute, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1902(cat. no. 149).
7: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 156).
8: Second Annual Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1897 (cat. no. 238).
Last updated: 1st January 2021 by Margaret
