The Grand Canal, Venice

Object Details

• Artist

  Unknown , formerly attributed to James McNeill Whister

• Label

  The provenance of this problematic pastel suggests that when Whistler died in 1903, it was were either in his studio or owned by one of his close associates. We know that many of the artists Whistler worked with in Venice drew Whistlerian pastels of the city, and that Whistler owned Venice pastels by at least one of them, a fact that friends like Thomas Robert Way, who helped settle Whistler's estate, may not have realized. It is possible that Way or another associate found this pastel in Whistler's studio, assumed it was by Whistler, and added the butterfly monogram to make it more saleable.

• Provenance

  To 1904

  Obach & Co., London, to 1904 [1]

  From 1904 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Obach & Co. in 1904 [2]

  From 1920

  Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 27, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [2] See note 1.

  [3] 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

  Whistler in Venice: The Pastels (January 19 to June 15, 2003)

  Exposition des Oeuvres de James McNeill Whistler (May 1905)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Obach & Co. (1884-1911) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Drawing

• 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.

  The information presented on this website may be revised and updated at any time as ongoing research progresses or as otherwise warranted. Pending any such revisions and updates, information on this site may be incomplete or inaccurate or may contain typographical errors. Neither the Smithsonian nor its regents, officers, employees, or agents make any representations about the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of the information on the site. Use this site and the information provided on it subject to your own judgment. The National Museum of Asian Art welcomes information that would augment or clarify the ownership history of objects in their collections.

Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1880s, 1870s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Obach & Co.

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art, Forgery, Rivers

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Drawings