The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Study for 'The Mouth of the River', originally dated 1876/1877, from the butterfly signature, has been redated 1876/1881: see The Mouth of the River m0590 for a discussion of the dating.

Study for 'The Mouth of the River', private collection

The watercolour is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 589).

Images

Subject

Site

Study for 'The Mouth of the River', private collection

Possibly the Mersey, near Liverpool, in north-east England, or the lower reaches of the Thames.

Technique

Composition

Study for 'The Mouth of the River', private collection

The Mouth of the River, Freer Gallery of Art

Study for 'The Mouth of the River' m0589 and The Mouth of the River m0590 were clearly painted from a similar viewpoint, and on the same day, and one may have been a study for the other.

History

Provenance

• Date unknown: bought at auction in Baltimore, MS, by a private collector;
• 1992: sold at auction, Christie's, New York, 6 December 1992 (lot 76) as 'Study for Mouth of the River' and bought by a private collector.

The earlier provenance is unknown.

Exhibitions

There is no record of an exhibition in Whistler's lifetime.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 589) as "Study for 'The Mouth of the River' ".

Catalogues 1906-Present

SALE:

• Christie's, New York, 6 December 1992 (lot 76) as 'Study for Mouth of the River'.