Grey and Brown: The Sad Sea Shore

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Label

  Whistler completed this painting in Dieppe, probably in the fall of 1885. He must have valued it highly, because he sent it to exhibitions in London (1886), Paris (1887), and New York (1889). Many reviewers were less impressed. After seeing the Paris exhibition, one unsympathetic writer complained that the provocatively sketchy and abstract painting was a mere "eccentricity"-an "incomprehensible amusement." Whistler "draws a line" across the middle of the panel, this same critic continued, "the top he fills in with grey-supposed to be sky and sea-the lower half with a dirty drab: this he entitles 'Grey and Brown: The Beach.' Two or three smudges represent people sitting on the beach; and there you are, don't you know!"

  Quotation from the London Morning Post, c. May 10, 1887, in Whistler Press Cutting Book, III, p. 120, Birnie Philip Collection, Glasgow University Library.

• Provenance

  1886

  Dowdeswell's, London, 1886 [1]

  1889

  H. Wunderlich & Co., New York, NY, 1889 [2]

  To 1914

  M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, to 1914 [3]

  From 1914 to 1919

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from M. Knoedler & Co., New York, NY, in January 1914 [4]

  From 1920

  The Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [5]

  Notes:

  [1] Object file, Exhibition history.

  [2] See note 1. Also, see Curatorial Remark 2, C. L. Freer, in the object record which states "From the exhibition of Whistler's work at Wunderlich's Gallery, 1889."

  [3] Undated folder sheet note. See Original Whistler List, Purchases since making up the Smithsonian Inventory, p. 15, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.

  [4] See note 3.

  [5] 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

  Small Masterpieces: Whistler Paintings from the 1880s (April 2, 2005 to November 11, 2008)

  American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler 1834-1903 (February 6, 1985 to March 4, 1986)

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

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

  Whistler—Landscapes and Seascapes (October 14, 1969 to September 25, 1971)

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

  Whistler Oils Exhibition (January 8, 1925 to January 20, 1928)

  American Paintings by J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to January 8, 1925)

  Panama-Pacific International Exposition (February 20 to December 4, 1915)

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

  "Notes"—"Harmonies"—"Nocturnes" (May 1886)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Dowdeswell and Dowdeswell (1878-1912)

  H. Wunderlich & Co. (1874-1912)

  M. Knoedler & Co. (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• 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

• Name

  Dowdeswell and Dowdeswell, Knoedler, Freer, Charles Lang, H. Wunderlich & Co.

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Water, Charles Lang Freer collection, Art, American Art, Ocean

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings