Low Tide

Maker(s)
Artist: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
Historical period(s)
1883-1884
Medium
Oil on wood panel
Dimensions
H x W: 13.8 x 23.5 cm (5 7/16 x 9 1/4 in)
Geography
United States
Credit Line
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Collection
Freer Gallery of Art
Accession Number
F1902.156a-b
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Painting
Type

Oil painting

Keywords
beach, boat, United States
Provenance

To 1902
Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934), London, to 1902 [1]

From 1902 to 1919
Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Henry Studdy Theobald, London, in August 1902 [2]

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

Notes:

[1] Undated folder note sheet, Object file. See also Original Whistler List, Purchases from Theobald, pg. 3, 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) and Custodian(s)

Henry Studdy Theobald (C.L. Freer source) 1847-1934
Charles Lang Freer 1854-1919

Label

Almost certainly painted in St. Ives, Cornwall, in December 1883 or January 1884, this is probably the painting titled Sands: Blue Note that Whistler exhibited in London in May 1884. Whistler covered the grain of the wood support more completely than in Wortley: Note in Green, but at the right he used the uncovered gray ground to establish tonal variations and texture. The broadly painted beach takes up both the foreground and the middle ground, setting off the intricate color harmonies of the multihued boats, houses, people, and chimneys that fill the background.

Published References
  • Andrew McLaren Young, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer. The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler. Studies in British Art 2 vols. New Haven, 1980. vol. 2: pl. 212.
  • Anna Gruetzner. A Fragile Modernism: Whistler and His Impressionist Followers. New Haven and London, 2007. fig. 18.
  • Kenneth Myers. Mr. Whistler's Gallery: Pictures at an 1884 Exhibition. Washington. cat. 10, p. 36.
  • David Tovey, Tate St. Ives. St. Ives Art pre-1890: The Dawn of the Colony. Exh. cat. Tewkesbury. p. 55.
  • Henry Gilbert, Roy Ray, Colin Orchard. All About St. Ives: A Guide to the Town, its Galleries and Art History. p. 59.
  • Donald Holden. Whistler Landscapes and Seascapes. New York. p. 67, pl. 23.
  • David Park Curry. James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art. Washington and New York, 1984. p. 137, pl. 41.
  • Kenneth Myers. Mr. Whistler's Gallery: the art of displaying art. New York, November 2003. p. 147.
Collection Area(s)
American Art
Web Resources
Google Cultural Institute
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