The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler

Date

Stormy sea was formerly thought to date from 1885/1890: a later date, of 1899/1900, is now considered much more likely, based on the technique, paper, and butterfly signature.

Stormy sea, Private Collection

It was included in MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1048), based on a photograph. The attribution was later (1999) queried, but a recent (2021) full examination of the work suggests that it is indeed by Whistler's hand, and the attribution to Whistler has been re-established.

Images

Subject

Titles

Stormy Sea is a descriptive title. Whistler's original title is unknown.

Description

Stormy sea, Private Collection

A seascape: grey clouds over a stormy sea. The waves on the sea is dark greenish grey, the paper being left unpainted where the light catches the breaking waves. At left, a small boat is indicated with four or five brushstrokes. Along the horizon a small, pointed brush picks out a few details, a building, a spire, and, at right, a couple of boats, and possibly a jetty or pier, blurred by mist or rain.

Site

Unknown. It is clearly a coastal scene. It could be Pourville or Dieppe, or the Dutch coast.

Technique

Technique

Stormy sea, Private Collection

It was painted boldly and freely, except for some details along the horizon, including a couple of boats and possibly buildings and a jetty. The brushstrokes on sea and sky are unusually broad, and mostly applied with full brushloads of paint, which sank quickly into the slightly rough brown paper. Areas were left bare, particularly to suggest the breaking waves. It is likely that the artist was working fast under difficult conditions (there are a number of tiny spots on the surface that might be due to salt spray).

Blue and Silver: Dieppe, New Britain Museum of American Art

Green and Silver: The Great Sea, The Hunterian

The free wavy brushstrokes that depict the waves are similar to those on several later seascapes. including Blue and Silver: Dieppe y499 and Green and Silver: The Great Sea y518.

Shop Front: Dieppe, The Hunterian

The use of gouache in the sky was dictated by necessity, ensuring the colours of the sky show up on the dark paper. A similar use of gouache (body-colour) is seen, for instance, in Shop Front: Dieppe m1517.

There is a wide range of small variations in the butterflies used on Whistler's late works; the one on Stormy sea is similar but not identical to ones on other paintings.

History

Provenance

• 1927: owned by William Bell Paterson (1859-1952), art dealer in Old Bond Street, London.
• Before 1952: private collection, Delaware, USA;
• By 1999: passed by family descent to a private collector in Georgia, USA;
• 2015: passed by family descent to a private collector;
• 2021-2022: with Bonhams, New York auction house.

The early provenance is unknown. See MacDonald 1995 (cat. rais.) [more] (cat. no. 1048). This entry has been revised.

Bibliography

Catalogues Raisonnés

• MacDonald, Margaret F., James McNeill Whistler. Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné, New Haven and London, 1995 (cat. no. 1048) as 'Stormy sea'.