Venice

Maker(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
1880
Medium
Fabricated chalks on brown paper
Dimensions
H x W (overall): 20.2 x 30.1 cm (7 15/16 x 11 7/8 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1893.26a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Drawing
Type

Drawing

Keywords
United States
Provenance

To 1893
H. Wunderlich & Co., New York to 1893 [1]

From 1893 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from H. Wunderlich & Co. in 1893 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 21, 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.

Previous Owner(s)

Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919
H. Wunderlich & Co. (C.L. Freer source) 1874-1912

Label

One of the sparest of Whistler's Venice pastels, this drawing was not included in the 1881 exhibition at the Fine Art Society in London. An evening view from the Riva degli Schiavoni looking south to the church of San Giorgio Maggiore, it was probably completed late in Whistler's stay in Venice, since the sky is touched with a wide range of colors, including greenish blue, lilac, blue, lemon, and orange. Unlike many pioneering Whistler collectors, Freer appreciated the abstractness of works like this one, which was the first Venice pastel he acquired.

Published References
  • Robert H. Getscher. Whistler and Venice. Ann Arbor. pl. 16.
  • Margaret F. MacDonald. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolours : A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, 1995. .
  • David Park Curry. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1984. p. 260, pl. 248.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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