The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Grey Mist at Sea was first exhibited in 1884.

Grey Mist at Sea, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

This work is catalogued fully in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 938).

Images

Subject

Description

Grey Mist at Sea, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

A misty day, with waves breaking along the shore, and a three-masted ship on the horizon at right.

Site

Grey Mist at Sea, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

Not identified. It is quite likely to have been painted by the North Sea, possibly in the Netherlands or northern France.

Technique

Technique

Grey Mist at Sea, Birmingham Museums and Art Gallery

The pale grey washes that depict the sky merge partly at the horizon with the pale green washes of the sea. The paper has a conspicuous texture, over which Whistler's brush skated lightly, leaving a trail of untouched paper to suggest waves and spray. A very fine pointed brush completed the picture, adding the three-masted ship, and the butterfly signature.

History

Provenance

• 1884: bought from Dowdeswell's by the American consul in Birmingham, Wilson King (1846-1930);
• 1930: given by his daughter, Rachel Estelle Albright King, Mrs A. S. Giles (1891-1966), in memory of her father, to Birmingham City Art Gallery.

Exhibitions

• 1884: possibly 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1884 (cat. no. 22) as 'Grey Mist at Sea'.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 938) as 'Grey Mist at Sea'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1884 (cat. no. 22) as 'Grey Mist at Sea'.

Websites

• Birmingham Museums website at http://www.birminghammuseums.org.uk