Detail from The Canal, Amsterdam, 1889, James McNeill Whistler, The Hunterian, University of Glasgow

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Harmony in Grey and Peach Colour

Harmony in Grey and Peach Colour probably dates from between 1872 and 1874. 1

The signature suggests a date of 1873/1874: it was probably signed in time for Mr Whistler's Exhibition at the Flemish Gallery, 48 Pall Mall, London, in 1874, when it was exhibited as 'Harmony in Grey and Peach Colour' (cat. no. 7).

Study in Grey and Pink, Freer Gallery of Art
Study in Grey and Pink, Freer Gallery of Art
Harmony in Grey and Peach Colour, Fogg Art Museum
Harmony in Grey and Peach Colour, Fogg Art Museum

A pastel study for the oil painting is entitled Study in Grey and Pink [M.0470], and this title helps to confirm the identity of the oil.

According to Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913), the painting was 'more or less destroyed' by Whistler and acquired by Way's father at the time of Whistler's bankruptcy in 1879; it was then cleaned about 1883 by Way Jr, with Whistler's permission, although 'the defacing had been so thorough that it was most difficult to reach the original painting.' 2 However, both the Pennells and Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919) thought that Whistler had not agreed to the restoration, and that T. R. Way, despite the artist's objections, had repainted it. 3

Notes:

1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 131).

2: Way 1912 [more], p. 137.

3: Pennell 1921C [more], p. 135; Freer to R. Birnie Philip, 29 June 1910, GUL Whistler MS BP III 4/16.

Last updated: 13th May 2021 by Margaret