Provenance

• By 1887: Théodore Duret (1838-1927) , Paris;
• 1894: sold at auction, Petit, Paris, 19 March 1894 (lot 42) as 'Nocturne' and bought by Knoedler's for an American client;
• 1894: bought by John Graver Johnson (1841-1917) ;
• 1917: bequeathed by him to the City of Philadelphia;
• 1933: transferred to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

It is not known what happened to this painting at the time of Whistler's bankruptcy in 1879.

In 1887 Whistler asked Duret where he had bought 'Nocturne de "Battersea Grey & Gold"' and asked him not to exhibit it at the Galerie Georges Petit. 1 It was described as in Duret's collection by Gustave Geffroy (1855-1926) in June 1891. 2 It was also listed by Whistler as 'Nocturne Grey & Silver' owned by Duret in 1892. 3 It was sold with Duret's collection at auction in 1894, when Whistler commented to D. C. Thomson,

'As to the Duret sale - I have heard others say that it is not likely to meet with good prices at all - It is scarcely the best moment - and I don't know that large sums are given for those particular "Masters"? so that I fancy my little Nocturne will be lost as usual.' 4

It was bought by the New York art dealers M. Knoedler & Co., for 4000 francs, according to Mireur, on behalf of an American client, and was shipped to America early in April 1894. 5 The purchaser was John G. Johnson of Philadelphia. Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) saw it and commented, 'I must have one of your marine nocturnes ... How beautiful the one brought over during the early summer for Mr. Johnson of Philadelphia!' 6 It was bequeathed by Johnson to the City of Philadelphia, and moved to the Philadelphia Museum of Art in 1933.

Exhibitions

• 1897: probably Second Annual Exhibition, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1897 (cat. no. 238) as 'Westminster Palace in Fog'.
• 1902: probably A Loan Exhibition of Paintings at the Carnegie Institute, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, 1902 (cat. no. 149) as 'Nocturne'.
• 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 59) as 'Nocturne—"Westminster" '.

Remotely possibly exhibited in the Grosvenor Gallery, 1878 (cat. no. 56) as 'Nocturne in Blue and Gold' (but see Nocturne in Blue and Gold [YMSM 154]).

In 1887 Whistler asked Theodore Duret not to exhibit 'Nocturne de "Battersea Grey & Gold"' at the Galerie George Petit because he was already arranging to send a group of works. 7 In 1892, although Duret's 'Nocturne Grey & Silver' was among paintings suggested by Whistler for his retrospective at Goupil's in London, no reply was forthcoming from the owner. 8