The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 146a
Symphony in Blue and White
Date
Symphony in Blue and White probably dated from between 1868 and 1878. 1 According to an advertisement in the Glasgow Herald, 19 January 1880, Robert McTear & Co. of Glasgow proposed to sell, in their auction of 22-23 January 1880, 'A Symphony in Blue and White' that had been the cause of the Whistler v Ruskin libel case in 1878.
The title does bear some similarity to that of Symphony in Silver and Grey y146, which was in a Glasgow collection at a later date, but since neither painting has been described it is impossible to identify them.
'Symphonies' were often figure subjects but could be Thames riverscapes: a date between 1868 and the mid-1870s therefore has been suggested for this work.
Images
Symphony in Blue and White, Whereabouts unknown
Subject
Titles
Only one title has been suggested:
- 'A Symphony in Blue and White' (1880, Robert McTear & Co.) 2
- 'Symphony in Blue and White' (1980, YMSM). 3
Description
Unknown.
Site
Unknown.
Technique
Technique
Unknown.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
- 1880: sold at auction, Robert McTear & Co., Glasgow, 22-23 January 1880.
According to their advertisement in the Glasgow Herald, Robert McTear & Co. proposed to sell 'A Symphony in Blue and White' that had been the cause of the Whistler v Ruskin libel case in 1878. According to 'J. A.', 'the painting by Whistler which was the cause of the famous law plea was sold in Glasgow by auction after extensive advertising ... The picture ... only fetched a few pounds'; John Ruskin (1819-1900) wrote 24 January 1880 to 'J. A.' of his satisfaction on hearing of this. 4 Harbron, writing much later, stated that the 'The Symphony in Blue and White' bought from Whistler for 200 guineas fetched £12.10.0 when auctioned in Glasgow soon after the lawsuit. 5
The title does not correspond to the title of any painting mentioned in reports of the Whistler v. Ruskin trial, and it is extremely unlikely that it could be identified with Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket y170, which was the real cause of the case, but which was in 1880 in the possession of Messrs Graves as surety for money advanced to Whistler.
The title does bear some similarity to that of Symphony in Silver and Grey y146, which was in a Glasgow collection at a later date, but this has not been confirmed.
Exhibitions
- No exhibition is known.
Bibliography
Catalogues Raisonnés
- Young, Andrew McLaren, Margaret F. MacDonald, Robin Spencer, and Hamish Miles, The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler, New Haven and London, 1980 (cat. no. 146a) as 'Symphony in Blue and White'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- Glasgow Herald, Glasgow, 19 January 1880.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- None.
Books, General
- Cook, E. T., and Alexander Wedderburn (eds), The Works of John Ruskin, 39 vols., London, 1903-1912, at 1908, vol. 34, p. 544.
- Harbron, Dudley, The Conscious Stone: The Life of Edward William Godwin, London, 1949, p. 139.
Catalogues 1906-Present
- None.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- None.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 146a).
2: Glasgow Herald, Glasgow, 19 January 1880.
3: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 146a).
4: Letter published with J. A.'s letter, Glasgow Herald, Glasgow, 27 January 1900; reprinted by Cook/Wedderburn 1903-12 [more], at 1908, vol. 34, p. 544.
5: Harbron 1949 [more], p. 139.