The Anchorage

Object Details

• Artist

  James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)

• Description

  A group of vessels at anchor; a narrow beach in the foreground; one figure; signed with butterfly near the left edge.

• Signatures

  Black butterfly in lower left quadrant

• Paper/Support

  On cold-pressed, wove paper mounted overall to board.

• 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 in 1902 [2]

  From 1920

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

  Notes:

  [1] See Original Whistler List, Purchases from Thoebald, pg. 8, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. See also, Voucher No. 1, August 1902,

  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 Watercolor (May 18 to November 3, 2019)

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

  Whistler Pastels and Water Colors (July 1 to July 31, 1974)

  Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Paintings and Drawings (December 14, 1955 to February 25, 1956)

  Untitled Exhibition, Works of Whistler (September 22, 1947 to April 11, 1955)

  Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Watercolors, Oil Paintings, and Pastels (January 20, 1944 to October 13, 1947)

  Whistler Pastels and Drawings, Re-arranged and some additions (January 7, 1924 to January 20, 1944)

  Whistler Water Colors (January 7, 1924 to April 4, 1930)

  American Paintings, Pastels, and Water Colors, and Drawings. J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to January 7, 1924)

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

  "Notes"—"Harmonies"—"Nocturnes" (May 1884)

• Previous custodian or owner

  Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) (C.L. Freer source)

  Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)

• Origin

  United States

• Credit Line

  Gift of Charles Lang Freer

• Type

  Painting

• Restrictions and Rights

  CC0 - Creative Commons (CC0 1.0)

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Keep Exploring

• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1880s

• Name

  Freer, Charles Lang, Theobald, Henry Studdy

• Place

  United States

• Topic

  Boats and boating, Art, Iron oxide red, Bone black, Zinc white, Beaches, Cerulean blue, Viridian, Vermilion, Mounting, Yellow ocher, Charles Lang Freer collection, Mars pigment, American Art, Raw sienna, Seascape, Ocean, Prussian blue, Burnt sienna

• Culture

  Americans

• Object Type

  Paintings