The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Gold and grey – The Sunny Shower, Dordrecht probably dates from 1884 and was first exhibited in 1886: the butterfly may have been added in 1889.

Gold and grey – The Sunny Shower, Dordrecht, The Hunterian

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 973).

Images

Subject

Site

Gold and grey – The Sunny Shower, Dordrecht, The Hunterian

Dordrecht, a town on on the Maas in the Netherlands, painted on site on a rainy day!

Technique

Technique

Gold and grey – The Sunny Shower, Dordrecht, The Hunterian

Only the centre of the watercolour is complete, a ship and a few roofs painted vividly with a fine brush in brown sienna. The rest of the picture surface was filled in with broad washes of grey as a sudden shower brought the painting session to an abrupt end. The surface was spattered with raindrops.

Style and content blend to perfection. With consumate skill Whistler turned the moment to advantage, catching the rich contrast of colours, the lowering grey of clouds and swirling mists complementing the rich colours of the harbour, sparkling in the rain.

Conservation History

The paper appears to be wove, possibly cartridge, but with little tooth. Although browned, the paint appears unaffected.

History

Provenance

• 1903: in Whistler's studio at his death and bequeathed to Rosalind Birnie Philip (1873-1958);
• 1935: given by Miss Birnie Philip to the University of Glasgow.

Exhibitions

• 1886: 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Second Series, Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1886 (cat. no. 51) as "Gold and grey – The Sunny Shower, Dortrecht'.
• 1888: possibly III. Internationale Kunst-Ausstellung, Königlicher Glaspalast, Munich, 1888 (cat. no. 33) as 'Grau und Gold: Regen und Sonne'.
• 1889: “Notes” – “Harmonies” – “Nocturnes”, H. Wunderlich & Co., New York, 1889 (cat. no. 9) as 'A Silver Note – Sun and Rain – Holland'.

The Illustrated London News expressed 'unfeigned admiration' for this watercolour, which the art critic considered to be among Whistler's 'serious' works, enquiring how Whistler achieved 'that marvellous transparency of colour which he can throw at times into his sea and air.' ¹

A New York newspaper, The Epoch, on 8 March 1889, commented that in 'A Silver Note – Sun and Rain – Holland' 'the beautiful silvery tone is charming'. It was priced at 30 guineas, but remained unsold, and was returned to Whistler after the exhibition by Wunderlich's on the SS Servia. ²

By the terms of Miss Philip's Gift, this work cannot be lent to another venue.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 973) as 'Gold and grey – The Sunny Shower, Dordrecht'.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Second Series, Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1886 (cat. no. 51) as "Gold and grey – The Sunny Shower, Dortrecht'.
• Possibly III. Internationale Kunst-Ausstellung, Königlicher Glaspalast, Munich, 1888 (cat. no. 33) as 'Grau und Gold: Regen und Sonne'.
• “Notes” – “Harmonies” – “Nocturnes”, H. Wunderlich & Co., New York, 1889 (cat. no. 9) as 'A Silver Note – Sun and Rain – Holland'.

Newspapers 1855-1905

• Anon., 'The Whistler Exhibition', Illustrated London News, London, 15 May 1886, p. 14.
• Anon., The Epoch, New York, 8 March 1889.

Books on Whistler

• Heijbroek, J. F., and Margaret F. MacDonald, Whistler and Holland, Zwolle and Amsterdam, 1997, repr. p. 48, pl. xii.

Websites

• The Hunterian website at http://collections.gla.ac.uk.