The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 414
Seascape
Date
Seascape has been dated between 1890 and 1895. 1
Seascape, Private collection
The butterfly signature suggested this date though the technique and colour is rather unusual. It may have been painted in Brittany in 1893. It does not, however, fit convincingly into Whistler's oeuvre at that time.
Images
Seascape, Private collection
Subject
Titles
Only one title has been suggested:
- 'Seascape' (1980, YMSM). 2
Description
Seascape, Private collection
A coastal scene, very pale in colour, consisting mostly of white waves, with a pale grey beach in the foreground.
Site
Possibly on the French coast.
Comments
The lack of provenance, the small size and minimal composition, and slightly unusual technique, cast some doubts on the authenticity of this painting.
Technique
Technique
Seascape, Private collection
It is exceptionally small for a painting on canvas by Whistler. It is painted with fairly thick creamy paint, the brushstrokes, and some conspicuous brush and palette knife strokes, which are much more obvious than was usual in Whistler's work. The butterfly, painted more thinly, may have been a later addition.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
- Date unknown: possibly owned by 'Randolph Hurst', who may have been William Randolph Hearst (1863-1961), San Francisco.
- 1972: bought from M. Bromsen, Boston, by Ethan Ayer (n/a), Los Angeles.
The early provenance is unknown. According to Ethan Ayer, it was at one time in the collection of 'Randolph Hurst'. It was bought from M. Bromsen by Ethan Ayer in the spring of 1972.
Exhibitions
Unknown.
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. 414), plate 276, as 'Seascape'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- None.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- None.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 414).
2: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 414).