The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Sketches of Nocturnes date from about 1879. They have not been located but are known from reproductions by Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913). ¹

Sketches of Nocturnes, Way 1912

Nocturne: Grey and Silver - Chelsea Embankment, Winter, Freer Gallery of Art

The drawings are not entirely consistent with Whistler's style, but Way was usually a reliable source. The first subject appears to be a memory drawing, a sketch for, or a sketch of Nocturne: Grey and Silver - Chelsea Embankment, Winter y205. The oil probably dates from January 1879 and was exhibited in Glasgow in that year, and in London in 1892.

They are fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 722).

Images

Subject

Site

Sketch of Nocturne, Way 1912

A view of Chelsea Embankment by the river Thames, London.

Technique

Composition

Sketch of Nocturne, Way 1912

Nocturne: Grey and Silver - Chelsea Embankment, Winter, Freer Gallery of Art

The first subject may be a memory drawing, a sketch for, or a sketch of Nocturne: Grey and Silver - Chelsea Embankment, Winter y205.

History

Provenance

• ca 1879: acquired from the artist by Thomas Way (1837-1915) and passed to his son, Thomas Robert Way (1861-1913);
• Before 1910: bought from Way by Kennedy, New York dealers;
• 1912: owned by David A. Kennedy (fl. 1895-1915).

Exhibitions

It was not exhibited

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 722) as 'Sketches of Nocturnes'.

Books on Whistler

• Way, Thomas Robert, Memories of James McNeill Whistler, the Artist, London and New York, 1912, repr. f.p. 16.