Grey and Silver–Purfleet

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Description

  River view with buildings and vessels along the shore in the distance; a clouded sky; signed with the butterfly at lower right.

• Signatures

  Maroon butterfly in lower right

• Inscriptions

  Verso: Thames- near Erith / Butterfly signature

• Paper/Support

  On rough, wove paper mounted overall to board.

• Provenance

  From 1902 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Company of the Butterfly, London, in 1902 [1]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [2]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 17, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Society of the Butterfly [Company of the Butterfly] was James McNeill Whistler's London business through which he sold his works.

  [2] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  Mr. Whistler's Galleries: Avant-garde in Victorian London, 1883 (November 20, 2003 to April 4, 2004)

  James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art—Whistler and the Landscape (May 11, 1984 to February 5, 1985)

  Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler (February 23 to March 22, 1904)

  "Notes"—"Harmonies"—"Nocturnes" (March 1889)

  Third Internationale Kunst-Ausstellung (1888)

  Annual Exhibition of Sketches, Pictures, and Photography (1884)

  "Notes"—"Harmonies"—"Nocturnes" (May 1884)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Company of the Butterfly (1897-1903) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1880s

• Name

  Company of the Butterfly, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Mounting, Charles Lang Freer collection, Mars pigment, Art, American Art, Iron oxide red, Bone black, Cloud, Zinc white, Rivers, Cerulean blue, Burnt sienna

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings