The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

M.0976
Grey and Green - Dordrecht

Grey and Green - Dordrecht

Artist: James McNeill Whistler
Date: 1884
Collection: Private Collection
Accession Number: none
Medium: watercolour
Support: cream paper laid down on card
Size: 4 15/16 x 8 7/16" (126 x 215 mm)
Signature: butterfly
Inscription: v.: '36y' in an unknown hand

Date

Grey and Green – Dordrecht probably dates from 1884, and was exhibited in 1889.

Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection
Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection

It is fully catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 973).

Images

Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection
Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection

Subject

Description

The New York Herald on 2 March 1889 described it as 'a delightful river scene by Dortrecht, with boats and windmills.'

Site

Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection
Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection

It was probably painted from Boudier's Hotel Bellevue in Dordrecht, where Whistler stayed in 1884, or from the nearby towngate (the Groothoofdspoort). Dordrecht is in the Netherlands, and was a busy, bustling port. The viewpoint facess Papendrecht, with the northern branch of the Merwede to left, and the lower reaches of the same river to right. 1

Technique

Technique

Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection
Grey and Green – Dordrecht, Private Collection

The colour is subtle, with beige and grey applied in freely flowing brush-strokes for sky and sea. Along the waterside, spiky, brittle strokes of bright green were interspersed with the grey of ships and red-roofed buildings.

History

Provenance

Exhibitions

New York Herald, 2 March 1889, mentioned it as 'Also worthy of particular attention ... a delightful river scene by Dortrecht, with boats and windmills.'

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

Catalogues 1855-1905

Newspapers 1855-1905

Books on Whistler


Notes:

1: Heijbroek 1997 [more], p. 55.