The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Sky study may date from 1880, but is so slight a sky study that it is difficult to date as well as hard to be sure of the authorship.

Sky study, Private Collection

The pastel is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 821).

Images

Subject

Site

Sky study, Private Collection

Possibly Venice, Italy.

Technique

Technique

Sky study, Private Collection

This is so minimalist a work that it is very hard to be sure of the identity of the artist.

History

Provenance

• Date unknown: possibly owned by Walter Hamilton Hylton Jessop (1853-1917) and bequeathed to his daughter Katherine Helen Hylton Jessop (1891-1977), Chelsea, London;
• 1973: the property of Miss K. H. Jessop, sold at auction, Sotheby's, London, 14 March 1973 (5) as 'Sky study' , bought by Williams & Son, London dealers, and sold immediately to Ira Spanierman (n/a), New York dealer.
• 1983: bought from a New York collection by Knoedler, New York dealers, 25 April;
• 1984: bought on 22 December by a private collector, New York.

The early provenance is not known for certain. For further details see MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 821).

Exhibitions

None known.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 821) as 'Sky study'.