Symphony in Green and Violet

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Label

  This oil sketch is part of a group of similar works later collectively titled the Six Projects by Charles Lang Freer. It dates from a period when Whistler undertook a self-imposed process of artistic reeducation. By borrowing freely from Japanese prints, classical Greek sculpture, and French eighteenth-century rococo painting, Whistler hoped to liberate his art from the chains of narrative realism. His use of chromatic and musical titles suggests that the decorative interplay of colors, rather than a particular story or moral, is key to the work’s content. Whistler later explained that they were the result of the “profound analysis on which the Japanese produce their extraordinary colour-harmonies,” woven through a composition, he said, like threads in embroidery.

• Provenance

  From 1903 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from James McNeill Whistler in July 1903 [3]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 8, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [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

  Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler's Peacock Room (July 13, 2024 to January 21, 2027)

  The Lost Symphony: Whistler & the Perfection of Art (January 16 to May 30, 2016)

  Freer & Whistler: Points of Contact (February 23, 2008 to January 3, 2016)

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) (April 3, 2001 to January 24, 2008)

  Whistler & Japan (May 14, 1995 to January 1, 1996)

  Arrangement in Yellow and Gold: Paintings by James McNeill Whistler (March 14, 1986 to April 1, 1987)

  James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art—Whistler and the Figure (May 11, 1984 to December 16, 1984)

  American Painting: To Dream of Fair Women (September 24, 1982 to February 29, 1984)

  American Paintings (March 20, 1981 to September 24, 1981)

  American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler (November 11, 1976 to March 18, 1981)

  Portraits and Figure Painting by James McNeill Whistler (October 2, 1972 to May 2, 1973)

  Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, Gallery 3, 1947 (September 25, 1947 to April 12, 1955)

  American Paintings, J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to February 12, 1944)

  Exposition des Oeuvres de James McNeill Whistler (May 1905)

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

• Previous custodian or owner

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• On View

  Freer Gallery 11: Ruffled Feathers: Creating Whistler's Peacock Room

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1860s

• Name

  Whistler, James McNeill, Freer, Charles Lang

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art, Woman

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings

• On View

  Yes