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

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YMSM 327
Harmony in Blue and Pearl: The Sands, Dieppe

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1885
Collection: National Gallery of Australia
Accession Number: 2017.321
Medium: oil
Support: wood
Size: 21.6 x 12.7 cm (8 1/2 x 5")
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: none
Frame: Grau-style, American, ca 1900

Harmony in Blue and Pearl: The Sands, Dieppe

Titles

Several possible titles have been suggested:

  • 'Harmony in blue and pearl. The Sands, Dieppe' (1886, Dowdeswell). 1
  • 'Marine' (1922, Cincinnati Art Museum). 2
  • 'Marine; Figures on the Sands' (1947, Macbeth). 3
  • 'Harmony in Blue and Pearl: The Sands, Dieppe' (1980, YMSM). 4

The title 'Harmony in Blue and Pearl: The Sands, Dieppe' is based on the original 1886 title, with modified punctuation.

Description

Harmony in Blue and Pearl: The Sands, Dieppe, National Gallery of Australia
Harmony in Blue and Pearl: The Sands, Dieppe, National Gallery of Australia

A seascape in vertical format, with numerous figures on the beach and paddling in the shallows, and a few further out, at the edge of the waves. There are several sailing boats out at sea. The sea is a pale blue and the sky streaked with pale grey clouds.

Site

Dieppe on the French coast, a busy port, ferry terminal and holiday resort.

Notes:

1: 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Second Series, Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1886 (cat. no. 1).

2: 29th Annual Exhibition of American Art, Cincinnati Art Museum, 1922 (cat. no. 23).

3: Whistler Loan Exhibition, Macbeth Gallery, New York, 1947 (cat. no. 33).

4: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 327).

Last updated: 15th November 2020 by Margaret