The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean was painted in 1866, with further details added in 1872, and it may have been touched up in 1892.

1866: it was painted on Whistler's visit to Valparaiso in South America. He spent six months in Chile at the time of a brief confrontation between Chile and Spain. ¹ According to Whistler's diary for the trip, he left Southampton on 2 February, arrived in Valparaiso on 12 March, and sailed for England early in September 1866. ²

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, The Frick Collection

1872: the foliage and signature were probably added, and the frame made, for exhibition. ³ It was shown in the 6th Winter Exhibition of Cabinet Pictures in Oil, Dudley Gallery, London, 1872 (cat. no. 37) as 'Symphony in grey and green – the Ocean'.

1892: repaired and possibly retouched for the exhibition in Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces, Goupil Gallery, London, 1892 (cat. no. 15).

Images

Subject

Titles

Several possible titles have been suggested:

• 'Symphony in grey and green – the Ocean' (1872, Dudley Gallery). ⁴
• 'Symphony in grey & green' (1873, Whistler). ⁵
• 'Harmony in Grey Valparaiso' (1878, Whistler). ⁶
• 'Arrangement in Grey & Green - The Pacific' (ca 1881, Whistler). ⁷
• 'Valparaiso' [deleted] 'The Pacific' (1887, Whistler). ⁸
• Probably listed as one of several paintings: 'Valparaiso - Twilight - / Valparaiso - grey rain - / Sea & Rain' (1892, Whistler). ⁹
• 'Gris et Vert – l'Océan' (1892, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts). ¹⁰
• 'Symphony in Grey and Green – The Ocean' (1892, Goupil). ¹¹
• 'The Ocean' (1892, Whistler). ¹²
• 'Sea Piece - Valparaiso' (1892, Whistler) ¹³
• 'Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean' (1980, YMSM). ¹⁴

In February 1873, when an American newspaper – possibly the Baltimore Gazette – mocked his titles, Whistler drafted a reply:

'I observe that many American Journals have [thought proper] to inform the "curious reader" on the authority of a correspondent who conceals his personality under the initials S T - that "the peculiarities of my pictures, "Symphony in grey & green" ["]Nocturne in blue and silver" etc, were suggested to me, by one of my "boon companions", when I had in my "off hand way" hastily given life to one of my "peculiar creations."

However gratifying ST may suppose it to be to me, to be represented as "hastily giving life to my peculiar creations" candour compels me to confess that … these creations are the result of much earnest study and deep thought. Each of these represents to me at least, a problem laboriously solved, and their peculiar titles suggest as much, (not to Art critics of course) but to all who are capable of understanding, or inferring their meaning. Their titles moreover if "poor things" are "mine own." ' ¹⁵

The title Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean has been taken as definitive, dating from Whistler's major retrospective exhibition of 1892 (with punctuation altered to conform with other titles).

Description

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, The Frick Collection

A seascape in rectangular format, with the horizon some two thirds of the way up the canvas. At the left edge, below centre, is the end of a wooden pier. Out to sea at left are several two-masted sailing ships. Pale grey clouds sweep across the sky. The sea is pale green and grey, with rollers breaking on the shore at left. In the foreground are several leafy branches. At lower right is a rectangular cartouche bearing Whistler's butterfly signature.

Site

The coast near the city of Valparaiso, Chile. ¹⁶ According to Whistler's diary for the trip to South America, he arrived in Valparaiso on 12 March, where he remained, except for occasional visits to Santiago and the surrounding countryside, until sailing for England early in September 1866. ¹⁷

In 1878 Whistler identified this painting as 'Harmony in Grey Valparaiso' and a few years later as 'Arrangement in Grey & Green - The Pacific.' ¹⁸ It is one of 'the three Valparaiso pictures that are known', as Whistler told the Pennells. ¹⁹ The other two are Crepuscule in Flesh Colour and Green: Valparaiso y073 and Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay y076.

Comments

The Frick website states:

'Whistler painted this work during a six-month stay in Valparaiso, Chile, then the site of a military conflict with Spain. The ships in the picture may allude to the blockade of the port city, but all specificity of time and place is suppressed in favor of a serene palette and minimalist composition.' ²⁰

Technique

Composition

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, photograph, Baltimore Museum of Art

An old photograph, reproduced above, shows the original composition, without the foreground foliage and the cartouche with a butterfly monogram. These were probably added for the 1872 exhibition, at which time The Times found 'the presence of the monogram and leafed twig in the foreground in Japanese fashion intrusive as well as imitative'. ²¹ The Frick website comments, 'the leafy branches and the cartouche that contains his butterfly monogram ... derive from Japanese woodblock prints. The wave pattern on the resurfaced frame most likely replicates Whistler’s original design.' ²²

Technique

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, The Frick Collection

The Frick conservation records state that the painting is on 12 threads/cm coarse linen canvas, on a 5-membered pine stretcher. The Frick website describes the brushwork:

'To render the rolling waters of the Pacific, Whistler dragged his brush from one side of the canvas to the other, creating long ribbons of muted tones. The imprint of the brush’s bristles in the paint enhances the illusion of a rippling sea.' ²³

From a visual examination of the painting, Professor Joyce H. Townsend notes that the canvas was painted with a mid-toned pinkish grey imprimatura made from a bright pink pigment. Although the artist used a very fluid paint medium, there are no drips, even for the most thinned area of the pier. Most of the surface was painted with long horizontal brushstrokes, with more gestural ones for the waves breaking round the pier; here the paint is less thinned, and where it is thicker it has cracked in a pattern that suggests it is not resinous or megilp-like; the added green leaves may have a megilp medium however.

There is no evidence that the number of ships has ever varied. No ships were overpainted, wiped away or left unfinished; it is likely therefore that this was genuine alla prima painting, but it could be that earlier versions were very thoroughly effaced. Professor Townsend adds:

'Examination supports the suggestion that the leaves and butterfly signature were planned together and executed at the same time.

The water, except at the pier, was painted wet-in-wet with the colours almost mixed on the canvas (using perhaps only blue, pink and black in a lot of white), in canvas-wide horizontal brushstrokes, and may include Whistler’s 'sauce'. The appearance and ageing of the paint is very reminiscent of the paint of the Tate nocturnes painted 1870-1871. The ships were applied on top, to slightly wet paint, with thinned paint that has not run – again suggesting the use of a paint medium modifier. The pier was applied over existing water, therefore the choppy waves in front of it must have been painted during the last stage of the first version.' ²⁴

Conservation History

During preparations for his 1892 retrospective, Whistler took a strong interest in the condition and framing of his works, asking David Croal Thomson (1855-1930) to arrange with owners for the necessary repairs to be carried out by Stephen Richards (1844-1900). Richards was appalled at the condition of this painting:

'I wish to draw your attention to the state of Mrs Peter Taylor's picture, it is in a most dangerous condition, in the first place the Canvas is literally rotten and if the picture is to be preserved it must be relined or the paint will soon flake from the canvas, this could not be done before the exhibition, there are also many very nasty blemishes in the sky, the cause of which is in the painting, the canvas not being thoroughly covered consequently with time the ground on which the picture is painted becomes darker and shows up in dark patches, this is a very common occurrence, it is in a very unfit state for exhibition and by the side of others would look extremely bad, it is a great pity that such a fine picture should be allowed to get in such a state, nothing has been done to the picture since it was painted, so I am not at all surprised at it going so, it requires nourishing, I should strongly advise the owner to have the picture cleaned and the stains restored at once, then after the exhibition to let me have it lined, the picture then would be in a perfect and durable condition.' ²⁵

However, D. C. Thomson had problems getting permission from the owner, Mrs Peter Taylor (1911-1996). 'This lady is a great invalid', he wrote, 'She sends word that if you will add a few lines to the enclosed from Richards (which we got ready to persuade her) she will accede to all we require - Will you therefore say you approve at the end of Richards note.' ²⁶ By 12 March, however, Thomson was reporting that Richards had it 'in hand.' ²⁷

A comparison of the painting today with photographs of it in 1892 and 1914 shows that one of the branches of foliage added by Whistler before 1872, was removed at some time, probably after Whistler's death. In these old photographs the third branch from the right, which crossed the long branch touching the cartouche, led up to a solitary leaf at top left: now the top two or three leaves are isolated and that part of the branch has disappeared.

The Frick records show that the canvas was already lined by 1935, when William Suhr removed the varnish and applied a retouching varnish. According to the 1968 Frick catalogue, the painting was cleaned in 1945 and was in good condition. ²⁸

Frame

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, photograph, 1980

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, The Frick Collection

1872/1874: it was originally framed in a reeded cassetta, possibly made by Foord & Dickinson, that would have had a decorated frieze and butterfly signature. The frame was probably made for the Dudley Gallery exhibition in 1872, but could have been slightly later. It is a good example of original wood, but not an original surface. The wood certainly dates from Whistler’s lifetime, and quite possibly is the first and only frame to surround the painting. Whistler did not paint the surface as seen today but the current painted decoration may be based on his design. ²⁹

1892: on 22 February 1892 Whistler wrote to D. C. Thomson:

'The picture which is very dirty should go at once to Richards to be cleaned & varnished - Frame in very bad state I fear - Grau had better see what can be done - he might find a larger frame in my studio that would cut down to it - the old frame of Carlyle, or the one of my Mother, would do, regilded.' ³⁰

A bill sent to Whistler from the Goupil Gallery on 20 May 1892 notes that the old frame had been 'regilt' because the owner had refused to accept a new frame. ³¹

The painting was definitely not shown with painted decoration at the Goupil Gallery in 1892, but it is not clear whether it was shown in the re-gilded 1870s frame or an 1892 Grau frame. The painting was sold during the exhibition to William Taylor Malleson, who apparently showed a preference for the old frame and not a new one made by Grau. Thomson wrote to Whistler on 11 April saying Malleson ‘is willing to send the Picture to Paris if it is insured against all risks & if you agree to have the old frame put in new condition afterwards.' ³² Thomson wrote again to Whistler on 23 April concerning the restoration of the original frame: ‘The present owner wants to use his old frame again & asks us to put it in hand for him (at his expense) if you will decide who is to [do] the colouring or decorating on the frame.’ ³³ Whistler did not respond to Thomson’s request, or at least, no reply is recorded.

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, detail of frame

1892/1904: The present frame is silver toned, and two narrow fillets are painted with a bamboo stalk design, on either side of a broad central fillet neatly painted with a seigaha (wave) pattern, and signed with a butterfly. This was probably based on the original decoration. Thomson or Malleson or a later owner must have found a suitable person to ‘restore’ it. ³⁴

History

Provenance

• 1883: possibly sold at auction, London, Christie's, 30 June 1883 (lot 252) as 'Valparaiso', bought in by Theodore Frederick Allingham (1844/1845-1901).
• 1892: owned by Mrs Peter Taylor (1911-1996), Brighton;
• 1892: sold to William Taylor Malleson (1830-1921), Croydon, in April 1892.
• By 1904: Richard Albert Canfield (1855-1914);
• 1914: sold to Knoedler's, New York art dealers, 12 March 1914;
• 1914: sold by Knoedler's to Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919), New York, 1914;
• 1919: bequeathed by him to the Frick Collection.

It is not clear what happened to this painting after its first exhibition in the Dudley Gallery in 1872. It may have come into the possession of Theodore Frederick Allingham (1844/1845-1901) or one of his clients. It is possible that it was the 'Valparaiso' sold at Christie's on 30 June 1883 but that could have been another Valparaiso oil. The London art dealer Charles William Deschamps (1848-1908) bid up to £75.0.0 for the 'Valparaiso' in 1883, but it remained unsold, being bought in by Allingham.

By the time of Whistler's retrospective at Goupil's in 1892 the painting was owned by Mrs Peter Taylor, widow of the MP Peter Taylor (1819-1891) (it is not known when she or her husband originally bought it). She agreed, during the course of the exhibition, to sell it through the Goupil Gallery. ³⁵ The new owner of the painting, W. T. Malleson, was not known to Whistler, and it is not clear how long he owned the picture. ³⁶ Nor is it known when it was acquired by the gambler and collector, R. A. Canfield, who met Whistler and collected his works very late in the artist's life.

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, The Frick Collection

After Canfield's death the provenance is straightforward, the picture being bought through Knoedler's (a/c #13429) by a major collector, Henry Clay Frick. It was a fine but slightly unusual purchase by Frick, whose taste in Whistler oils usually ran to full length portraits.

Exhibitions

• 1872: 6th Winter Exhibition of Cabinet Pictures in Oil, Dudley Gallery, London, 1872 (cat. no. 37) as 'Symphony in grey and green – the Ocean'.
• 1889: Retrospective Exhibition, College for Working Men and Women, London, 1889 (no catalogue).
• 1892: Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces, Goupil Gallery, London, 1892 (cat. no. 15) as 'Symphony in Grey and Green – The Ocean'.
• 1892: Exposition Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Champ-de-Mars, Paris, 1892 (cat. no. 1069) as 'Gris et Vert – l'Océan'.
• 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 74) as 'Symphony in Gray and Green – "The Ocean" '.
• Comparative exhibition of native and foreign art, Society of Art Collectors, New York, 1904 (cat. no. 183) as 'Symphony in Gray and Green – The Ocean'.
• 1905: Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 62) as 'Symphonie en gris et vert. – L'Océan. (Symphony in Grey and Green. The Ocean.)'.

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, framed ca 1872

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, photograph, 1881, Baltimore Museum of Art

It was first shown at the Dudley Gallery, London, in 1872. It was signed and framed especially for this exhibition. The Times found 'the composition is ugly, the sky opaque, the suggestion of sea leaden and without light or motion, the presence of the monogram and leafed twig in the foreground in Japanese fashion intrusive as well as imitative.' ³⁷ The Era on 27 October grouped Whistler's exhibits together as 'lunacies of art' and suggested that this one had been 'smeared upon the canvas with the painter's palm instead of a brush'.

The Pall Mall Gazette associated Whistler's paintings, then on show at the Dudley, with a dramatic painting by Edouard Manet (1832-1883), the Battle of the Kearsage and the Alabama (1864, Philadelphia Museum of Art), which was in Durand Ruel's winter exhibition in Bond Street. ³⁸ The Pall Mall Gazette considered the paintings by Manet and Whistler shared a common sensitivity in the depiction of 'luminous shadow and silver tone and delicacy'. The identity of the painting by Whistler that inspired this comparison is not absolutely certain, but Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean is a possible candidate.

Trouville, Art Institute of Chicago

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, The Frick Collection

Crepuscule in Flesh Colour and Green: Valparaiso, Tate Britain

The comparison could apply to other paintings by Whistler, including Green and Grey. The Oyster Smacks – Evening y070 and Crepuscule in Flesh Colour and Green: Valparaiso y073. The Pall Mall Gazette added that other paintings by Whistler were at Durand Ruel's gallery in Bond Street and were expected to travel on to exhibition in Paris.

There have also been doubts about which of the Valparaiso pictures was exhibited at the Grosvenor Gallery in 1879 (cat. no. 56) as 'The Pacific. Harmony in Green and Grey' but the Frick catalogue of 1968 states that 'Neither the coloring nor the subject seem identifiable with the Frick painting.' ³⁹

It was certainly included in the show organised by Walter Richard Sickert (1860-1942) in the College for Men and Women, London, in 1889, being identified by descriptions in several local papers. ⁴⁰

Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean, photograph, 1892, Goupil Album, GUL Whistler PH5/2

In 1892 Whistler wrote to David Croal Thomson (1855-1930), recommending pictures to be including in his major retrospective at the Goupil Gallery: 'Mrs Peter Taylor of Brighton has a fine sea piece - She is the widow of late member of Parliament'. ⁴¹ Mrs Taylor agreed to lend, and the painting was included in the exhibition of Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces. In his catalogue entry Whistler quoted a disparaging description from an earlier London Times review: 'In Mr Whistler's picture, "Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean," the composition is ugly, the sky opaque, the suggestion of sea laden and without light or motion.' Another quotation published in the catalogue was not, as was usual, from a press cutting, but a quotation from John Ruskin (1819-1900), 'We can paint a cat or a fiddle, so that they look as if we could take them up; but we cannot imitate the Ocean or the Alps. We can imitate fruit, but not a tree; flowers, but not a pasture; cut-glass, but not the rainbow.' ⁴² To which, in the edition of the catalogue published in The Gentle Art of Making Enemies in 1892, Whistler appended a jubilant, dancing butterfly with a forked tail. ⁴³

As soon as Symphony in Grey and Green: The Ocean was safely on show at Goupil's, Whistler wrote to D. C. Thomson, 'Borrow for Paris.' ⁴⁴ He obviously thought highly of it, and when he was in need of pictures for the Salon in Paris, he urged Thomson:

'Most important. See the present owner of Mrs Peter Taylor's sea piece - (No. 15.) I must have that for Paris - Give him my compliments and obtain his promise - for the Champs de Mars - By the way Richard[s] was to do something to it - Ask how long it would take him.' ⁴⁵

Thomson replied remarkably patiently to all Whistler's demands:

'Mr Matterson [sic], the present owner of Mrs Peter Taylors picture is willing to send the Picture to Paris if it is insured against all risks & if you agree to have the old frame put in new condition afterwards. The insurance would be £1. 10/- The picture has gone to Richards who will have it done by the 19th[.] Please say if you want it under these conditions.' ⁴⁶

The picture restorer and another art dealer, William Marchant & Co., were mobilised, insurance and transport were arranged. ⁴⁷ Eventually it arrived safely in Paris, and was sent on to the exhibition by Maurice Joyant (1864-1930), Goupil's representative in Paris, who acknowledged, 'J'ai fait envoyer hier au Champs de Mars une nouvelle Marine de vous.' ⁴⁸ At the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts it was well reviewed, to Whistler's delight. He wrote to the journalist Malcolm Charles Salaman (1855-1940),

'Now then O! Salaman - wire in - and make extracts and put them side by side with the silly sayings that are collected for this purpose in the beautiful Catalogue - and rub the nose of the Wedmores and persons upon this French grindstone - Take for instance the "Ocean, Symphony in Grey and Green" (No. 15) in the Catalogue - reproduce what the Times says of it, and see how immensely that picture is delighted in here.' ⁴⁹

Rubbing it in, Whistler enclosed a press cutting from Le Voltaire of 7 May 1892 that praised the pictures, including 'Marines ... qui semblent glisser comme en rêve.' ⁵⁰ Whistler gloated, 'The success here is absolutely enormous ... The Mrs Taylor "Ocean" could have been sold over & over - Now just [look] back in the Catalogue and read what was said of that same work in England!' ⁵¹ And, thinking ahead to the next show, with this one barely over, he told Thomson,

'I wanted to send the "Ocean" on to Münich - but I hear that Mr. Matherson [sic] - I don't remember well his name - wants it back - so he had better have it - as I want him to lend it next year for Chicago - & I have written to Joyant to send it back to you.' ⁵²

Whistler Memorial Exhibition, Boston, 1904, photograph, GUL Whistler PH6/18

However, it did not go to Chicago, and it is not clear when it was sold. After Whistler's death it was lent by the new owner, Richard Albert Canfield (1855-1914), to the Whistler Memorial Exhibitions in Boston in 1904 (as seen in the photograph reproduced above) and to Paris, in 1905.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 72), plates 44, 378.

Authored by Whistler

• Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces, Goupil Gallery, London, 1892 (cat. no. 15).
• Goupil Gallery and James McNeill Whistler, Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces [portfolio of photographs published after the Goupil Gallery Exhibition, March-April 1892], London, 1892, repr. pl. 6.
• Whistler, James McNeill, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, 2nd edition, London and New York, 1892, p. 307.

Catalogues 1855-1905

• 6th Winter Exhibition of Cabinet Pictures in Oil, Dudley Gallery, London, 1872 (cat. no. 37) as 'Symphony in grey and green – the Ocean'.
• Retrospective Exhibition, College for Working Men and Women, London, 1889 (no catalogue).
• Nocturnes, Marines & Chevalet Pieces, Goupil Gallery, London, 1892 (cat. no. 15) as 'Symphony in Grey and Green – The Ocean'.
• Exposition Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Champ-de-Mars, Paris, 1892 1892 (cat. no. 1069) as 'Gris et Vert – l'Océan'.
• Comparative exhibition of native and foreign art, Society of Art Collectors, New York, 1904 (cat. no. 183) as 'Symphony in Gray and Green – The Ocean'.
• Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 74) as 'Symphony in Gray and Green – "The Ocean" '.
• Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 62) as 'Symphonie en gris et vert. – L'Océan. (Symphony in Grey and Green. The Ocean.)'.

Newspapers 1855-1905

• Anon., 'The Dudley Gallery', Globe, London, 25 October 1872, p. 4.
• Anon., 'Dudley Gallery.-Winter Exhibition', The Era, London, 27 October 1872, p. 12.
• Anon., 'The Dudley Gallery', The Times, London, 11 November 1872.
• Anon., 'The Society of French Artists', Pall Mall Gazette, 28 November 1872, p. 11.
• Anon., 'A Whistler Show', The Star, London, 21 April 1889.
• Anon., [review of exhibition], The Echo, London, 20 May 1889.
• Anon., 'Mr. Whistler's Paintings', London Evening Standard, London, 21 March 1892, p. 3.
• Anon., Pall Mall Budget, London, 31 March 1892, engraving repr. p. 458.

Journals 1855-1905

• Anon., [review of exhibition], Land and Water, London, 25 May 1889.
• Anon., ‘Дж. УистлерЪ [Dzh. Uistler]’, Мир искусства [Mir Iskusstva, 'World of Art'], vol. 9, 1903, pp. 61-68, repr. p. 61.

Monographs

• None.

Books on Whistler

• Cary, Elizabeth Luther, The Works of James McNeill Whistler: A Study, with a Tentative List of Artist’s Works, New York, 1907 (cat. no. 73).
• Ono, Ayako, Japonisme in Britain: Whistler, Menpes, Henry, Hornel and nineteenth-century Japan, London, 2003.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Life of James McNeill Whistler, 2 vols, London and Philadelphia, 1908, vol. 1, p. 135.
• Pennell, Elizabeth Robins, and Joseph Pennell, The Whistler Journal, Philadelphia, 1921, pp. 43, 279.
• Petri, Grischka, Arrangement in Business: The Art Markets and the Career of James McNeill Whistler, Hildesheim, 2011, pp. 114, 186, 194, 659, 689.
• Sickert, Bernhard, Whistler, London and New York, 1908 (cat. no. 70).
• Spencer, Robin, Whistler, New York, 1990, pp. 66-67.
• Sutherland, Daniel E., Whistler: A Life for Art's Sake, New Haven and London, 2014, pp. 95-98.
• Sutton, Denys, Nocturne: The Art of James McNeill Whistler, London, 1963, p. 53.
• Sutton, Denys, James McNeill Whistler: Paintings, Etchings, Pastels and Watercolours, London, 1966, p. 188, no. 36.
• Way, Thomas Robert, and G. R. Dennis, The Art of James McNeill Whistler: An Appreciation, 1st edition, London, 1903, pp. 62-63.

Books, General

• Fattal, ‎Laura Rachel Felleman and Carol Salus (eds), Out of Context: American Artists Abroad, in series Contributions to the study of art and architecture, Westport, CT, 2004, pp. 14
• Gaunt, William, Marine Painting: An historical survey, London, 1975, repr. p. 171.
• Isham, Howard F., Image of the Sea: Oceanic Consciousness in the Romantic Century, New York et al., 2004, p. 219.
• Muther, Richard Geschichte der Malerei im XIX Jahrhundert, 3 vols, Munich, 1893-1894 ('Whistler und die Schotten', vol. 3, chap. 48, pp. 522-37), repr. p. 537.
• Ono, Ayako, Japonisme in Britain: Whistler, Menpes, Henry, Hornel and nineteenth-century Japan, London, 2003, pp. 73, 77.

Catalogues 1906-Present

COLLECTION:

• The Frick Collection, An Illustrated Catalogue, I-II, Paintings in The Frick Collection: American, British, Dutch, Flemish and German, Vol. 1, New York: The Frick Collection, 1968, pp. 6-9.
• Art in The Frick Collection: Paintings, Sculpture, Decorative Arts, New York, 1996.

EXHIBITION:

• The Works of J.A. McNeill Whistler from the Collection of Mr. Richard Canfield of Providence, Rhode Island, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Buffalo, 1909 (cat. no. 1).
• Paintings in oil and pastel by James McNeill Whistler, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1910 (cat. no. 8).
• Oils, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings by James McNeill Whistler lent by Mr. Richard Canfield, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Buffalo, 1911 (cat. no. 3).
• Oils, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings by J. McN. Whistler, Knoedler & Co., New York, 1914 (cat. no. 1) repr.

Journals 1906-Present

• Stoner, Joyce Hill, 'Whistler's views on the restoration and display of his paintings', Studies in Conservation, vol. 42, 1997, pp. 107-14, at p. 111.

Websites

• Portraits, Pastels, Prints: Whistler in The Frick Collection, website of exhibit, 2009, website at https://www.frick.org.
• The Frick Collection, 2018, website at https://collections.frick.org/objects/287/symphony-in-grey-and-green-the-ocean.

Unpublished

• Revillon, Joseph Whistler, Draft Catalogue Raisonné of the Paintings of J. McN. Whistler, [ca 1945-1955], Glasgow University Library (cat. no. 41) Symphony in grey and green: The ocean / Harmony in green and gold: The Pacific'.

Other

• Sheers, Joanna, 'Whistler's "Symphony in Grey and Green, The Ocean" ', utube website at https://www.youtube.com.
• Teniswood-Harvey, Arabella Melvina Cameron, Colour-Music. Musical Modelling in James McNeill Whistler's Art, PhD thesis, University of Tasmania, December 2006.
• Parkerson, Sarah Lawrence, Variations in Gold: The Stylistic Development of the Picture Frames used by James McNeill Whistlers, PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 2007.https://eprints.utas.edu.au/22186/1/whole_Teniswood-HarveyArabellaMelvinaCameron2006_thesis.pdf.
• Kapczynski, Isabella Leokadia, Artist Frames: A Lost Hist ames: A Lost History Tracking the Inno acking the Innovations of ations of Discarded Visions, MA Theses 20, Sotheby's Institute of Art, 2019, pp. 24-26, repr. fig. 10. https://digitalcommons.sia.edu/stu_theses/20.