The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

The Thames dates from 1872/1875.

The Thames, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

The drawing is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 473).

Images

Subject

Site

The Thames, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

The view from or from near Whistler's house in Lindsey Row, Chelsea, looking across to Battersea on the south bank of the River Thames.

Technique

Composition

The Thames, Eskenazi Museum of Art, Indiana University

Nocturne: Blue and Silver - Battersea Reach, Freer Gallery of Art

Nocturne: Battersea, Private Collection

The view is seen in several oil paintings including Nocturne: Blue and Silver - Battersea Reach y119 and Nocturne: Battersea y120.

History

Provenance

• 1870s: possibly given to Emilie Venturi (1821–1893), née Ashurst, wife of (1) Sidney Milnes Hawkes (1821–1905) and (2) Carlo Francesco Venturi (1830–1866);
• 1893-1969: passed by family descent to her great-nephew, Wyon James Stansfield (1908-1988);
• 1969: sold at auction, Sotheby's, London, 23 April 1969 (lot 1, repr.) and bought by Williams & Son, London art dealers, for Ira Spanierman (n/a);
• 1971: sold to Hermann B. Wells, Chancellor, Indiana University;
• 1978: presented to the art museum, Indiana University.

Exhibitions

• The comparatively high level of finish makes it likely that this was exhibited in Whistler's lifetime, but if so it has not been identified.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no 473) as 'The Thames'.

Catalogues 1906-Present

• Living with Art: The Legacy of Herman B .Wells, Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, 2001.

Websites

• Eskenazi Museum of Art Provenance Project website at https://artmuseum.indiana.edu.