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

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Marine: Blue and Grey

Provenance

  • 1898: sold by Goupil (Boussod Valadon & Cie), London art dealers, to Joshua Montgomery Sears (1854–1905), Boston;
  • 1905: passed to his estate and possibly bequeathed to his widow, Sarah Carlisle Sears née Choate (1858-1935).
  • 1943: sold by the Macbeth Galleries, New York, to Millicent Abigail Rogers (1902-1953) of Claremont, VA;
  • 1953: bequeathed to her son Arturo Peralta Ramos (b. ca 1902-d. 2015), Jr.
  • Date unknown: at some time with Warren Adelson (n/a), New York art dealer.
  • 2013: given by Peter H. Lunder (b. 1933) and Paula Crane Lunder (b. 1935) to Colby College Museum of Art.

According to Charles Lang Freer (1856-1919), a 'Marine', probably this, was sold by Goupil, London dealers, to one 'Sears' of Boston in 1898. 1 Sears was Joshua Montgomery Sears (1854–1905), who lent it to the Whistler memorial exhibition in Boston in 1904 (cat. no. 16) as 'Seascape'. He died in the following year and it is likely that the painting was inherited by his wife Sarah Carlisle Sears, a noted collector, artist and photographer. They had two children, Joshua Montgomery Sears (1879-1908) and Helen (1889-1966), who married James Donald Cameron Bradley (1883-1956) in 1913. The painting could have been inherited by Sarah or Helen Sears and sold between 1935 and 1943.

The painting was acquired by the Macbeth Galleries by 1943 and sold by them in that August to Millicent Abigail Rogers, Standard Oil heiress, daughter of Henry Huddleston Rogers, who married (1) Count L. C. Salm (2) A. Peralta Ramos (3) R. B. Balcom. The painting was bequeathed to her son by her second marriage, Arturo Peralta Ramos, Jr.

Exhibitions

  • 1884: Possibly 'Notes' - 'Harmonies' - 'Nocturnes', Messrs Dowdeswell, London, 1884 (cat. no. 36) as 'Sea and Storm; grey and green'.
  • 1887: Possibly Exposition Internationale de Peinture et de Sculpture, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 1887 (cat. no. 213) as 'Vert et gris: L’Orage'.
  • 1904: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Boston, 1904 (cat. no. 16) as 'Seascape'.

Although it may have been Sea and Storm: Grey and Green [YMSM 283], which has not been located, no reviews have been found that might help confirm this identification.

Marine: Blue and Grey, photograph, 1904
Marine: Blue and Grey, photograph, 1904

A photo of the Boston memorial exhibition, a detail of which is reproduced above, confirms that it was the work exhibited in 1904.

Notes:

1: n.d., Diaries, 183 Bk 12, Freer Gallery Archives.

Last updated: 17th April 2021 by Margaret