Provenance

• 1884: bought by Miss van der Weyer – Louise Marie [Augusta?] van de Weyer (1851-1896) – of 10 De Vere Gardens, London.

It was bought from the Dowdeswell exhibition in 1884 by Miss van der Weyer, the sister of Lady Esher and daughter of Sylvain van de Weyer (1802-1874), one time Belgian minister of the Court of St James's. 1

The later history of this painting is not known, and has been confused with that of Pink and Opal: Harbour [YMSM 272].

Exhibitions

• 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1884 (cat. no. 48) as 'Blue and opal – Herring Fleet'.

Frederick Wedmore (1844-1921) praised the painting when it was exhibited in 1884: 'What a placid charm in that delicate, ghostly vision of the "Herring Fleet" (48)! Poetical, we should call it, only that to be poetical is to be literary'. 2