The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1141
Grey and silver, Docks, Southampton
Date
Grey and silver, Docks, Southampton dates from July 1887.
As President of the Society of British Artists, Whistler was invited to attend the Naval Review at Spithead on 27 July that marked the 50th Anniversary of the succession of Queen Victoria (1819-1901). According to the Leeds Mercury, 10 December 1887, this was painted at the Review.
It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1141).
Images
Grey and silver, Docks, Southampton, Whereabouts unknown
Subject
Site
The port of Southampton on the south coast, one of the most important ports in England. Whistler also etched Dry Docks, Southampton [302] in 1887. 1
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
History
Provenance
- 1900: possibly 'Revue navale à Southampton' sold at auction in Paris on 24 March 1900, 950 fr. 2
No other provenance is known.
Exhibitions
- 1887: Winter Exhibition, Royal Society of British Artists, London, 1887-1888 (cat. no. 132) as 'Grey and silver, Docks, Southampton'.
The Illustrated London News, 10 December 1887, compared Blue and Silver: Portsmouth m1138 with this watercolour, and suggested that 'at the former spot he was but half awake and at the latter already half asleep on that eventful but tiring day.'
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1141) as 'Grey and silver, Docks, Southampton'.
Catalogues 1855-1905
EXHIBITION:
- Winter Exhibition, Royal Society of British Artists, London, 1887-1888 (cat. no. 132) as 'Grey and silver, Docks, Southampton'.
SALE:
- [Unidentified], Auction, Paris, 24 March 1900 (lot number unknown).
Newspapers 1855-1905
- Anon., Home and Colonial, London, 2 December 1887.
- Anon., 'Three Royal Societies of Art', Leeds Mercury, Leeds, 10 December 1887, p. 12.
- Anon., 'The Royal Society of British Artists', Illustrated London News, London, vol. 91, 10 December 1887, p. 696.
- The Tablet, London, 12 December 1887.
Books, General
- Mireur, H., Dictionaire des Ventes, Paris 1911-12 (7 vols), p. 501.
Notes:
1: Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock, James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonné, University of Glasgow, 2012, online website.
2: Mireur, H., Dictionaire des Ventes, Paris 1911-12 (7 vols), p. 501.