Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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Cremorne

Cremorne may date from between 1875 and 1877 when other Cremorne subjects were painted. 1 The gardens closed to the public in 1877.

On 18 September 1875, Whistler's mother Anna Matilda Whistler (1804-1881) mentioned a painting 'lately finished of Cremorne Gardens at Chelsea.' 2


                Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, Detroit Institute of Arts
Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, Detroit Institute of Arts

Whistler's paintings of Cremorne include Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket [YMSM 170], which was exhibited at the Dudley Gallery in November 1875 and might well be the painting to which his mother referred. The Cremorne paintings became security for Whistler's debts, and some were destroyed at the time of his bankruptcy.

Notes:

1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 168).

2: Letter to J. Gamble, GUW #06555.

Last updated: 20th May 2021 by Margaret