The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
M.1041
The Opal Sea
Date
The Opal Sea dates from about 1885.
The Opal Sea, Private Collection
It is catalogued in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1041).
Images
The Opal Sea, Private Collection
Subject
Description
The Opal Sea, Private Collection
A calm sea with one tall masted sailing ship to left of centre on the horizon, under a bright sky of sun and clouds.
Site
Possibly in or near Dieppe, or on the south coast of England.
Technique
Technique
The Opal Sea, Private Collection
See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1041).
History
Provenance
- By 1905: owned by Ellen 'Nellie' Millicent Ashburner Cobden, Mrs W. R. Sickert (1848-1914);
- 1914: Estate of Mrs E. M. Cobden;
- Date unknown: according to Agnew's, at some time in the collection of Ralph T. King (d. 2018), Cleveland, OH.
- 1979: sold by Eugene V. Thaw (1927-2018), New York dealer, to Agnew's, London dealers;
- Date unknown: sold to Ralfe A. Whistler, England;
- 1984/1985: bought by Knoedler-Modarco S.A., New York dealers, and sold to Transco Energy Co., Houston, Texas;
- 1992: at auction, Sotheby's, New York, 3 December 1992 (lot 38) as 'Seascape, Dieppe', bought in;
- In or after 1992: bought by a private collector.
See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1041).
Exhibitions
- 1905: Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 111) as 'The Opal Sea'.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1041) as 'The Opal Sea'.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- Œuvres de James McNeill Whistler, Palais de l'Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, 1905 (cat. no. 111) as 'The Opal Sea'.
Catalogues 1906-Present
EXHIBITION:
- MacDonald, Margaret F., Notes, Harmonies, and Nocturnes: Small Works by James McNeill Whistler, M. Knoedler and Co., Inc., New York, 1984 (cat. no. 128) repr.
- Contemplating the American Watercolor: Selections from the Transco Energy Company Collection, Houston, Texas, touring show starting in The Denver Art Museum, Denver, and ending in The Shoto Museum of Art, Tokyo, and other Japanese venues, 1985-1992, repr. pl. 16.
SALE:
- Sotheby's, New York, 3 December 1992 (lot 38) as 'Seascape, Dieppe'.