The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Blue Sea Piece, Dieppe dates from one of Whistler's trips to Dieppe, in August 1897, 1898 or 1899. ¹

‘Blue sea piece Dieppe’ was mentioned by Whistler in 1901/1902 as having been sold to 'Hessel', presumably the Paris dealer Charles Hessele (fl. 1892-1914). ²

The picture may also have been one of several paintings mentioned by Whistler on 8 July 1899 as sold to a man in Paris, possibly Hessele: '[A] man here ... has just now carried off seven paintings that you, for the last two years, had not perceived as sufficiently "grown" to be of service - but which properly framed and signed - as they now all are - go to make a mighty pretty little collection.' ³ If Whistler was being precise, which is not certain, this indicates he had sold several works painted in 1897 and signed in 1899. Unfortunately Whistler's butterfly monogram had not changed much in that time, so this is no help in dating or identifying the painting.

Images

Subject

Titles

Only one title has been suggested:

• ‘Blue sea piece Dieppe’ (1901/1902, Whistler). ⁴
• 'Blue Sea Piece, Dieppe' (1980, YMSM). ⁵

Description

A seascape, presumably with blue sea.

Site

Dieppe, a busy port and seaside resort on the French coast.

Blue and Silver: Dieppe, New Britain Museum of American Art

Whistler painted more than a dozen pictures in Dieppe including Argent et violet: Dieppe y333, The Sea Shore, Dieppe y379, and Blue and Silver: Dieppe y499.

Technique

Technique

Unknown.

Conservation History

Unknown.

Frame

Unknown.

History

Provenance

• 1901/1902: sold by Whistler to Charles Hessele (fl. 1892-1914), Paris.

A painting described only as 'Blue sea piece Dieppe' was recorded as sold by the artist to the Paris dealer 'Hessel', about 1901/1902. ⁶ However, some paintings recorded as sold to Hessele did not in fact get delivered (see St Ives, The Nets on the Hill y270), and it is virtually impossible to identify this seascape.

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. 525) as 'Blue Sea Piece, Dieppe'.

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Unpublished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.