The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler
YMSM 285
A Coast Scene with Boats
Date
A Coast Scene with Boats may date from 1900 or later. 1
1880/1890s: Andrew McLaren Young (1913-1975) suggested that this dated from the late 1880s or 1890s, but later had doubts as to the artist. 2
1899/1900: The size of the panel is close to that of The Sea, Pourville y520 and Grey and Gold: The Golden Bay, Ireland y537, dating from 1899 and 1900 respectively. However, the technique and butterfly signature, although they slightly resemble Whistler's late work and signature, are not totally convincing. It is possible that a panel started by Whistler was worked on by someone else.
Images
A Coast Scene with Boats, Private collection
A Coast Scene with Boats , photograph, 1980
Subject
Titles
No title dating from Whistler's time is known. Alternative titles have been suggested:
- 'Seascape' (1945, Wildenstein). 3
- 'A Coast Scene with Boats' (1946, Sotheby's). 4
- 'A Coast Scene with Boats' (1980, YMSM). 5
'A Coast Scene with Boats' is the preferred title.
Description
A Coast Scene with Boats , photograph, 1980
A beach scene in horizontal format. There are three seagulls and a piece of wood on the shore. Further along the beach several men stand by two small sailing boats drawn up on the shore. A series of low promontories are seen across the bay.
Site
Unknown.
Comments
The inclusion of seagulls and a piece of flotsam would be extremely unusual for Whistler, and the technique and subject are not consistent with Whistler's work.
In 1971 Andrew McLaren Young (1913-1975) expressed doubts about the authorship of this work. 6
It is possible that it was painted by one of Whistler's students and 'apprentices', Clifford Isaac Addams (1876-1942) or Inez Eleanor Addams (1874-1958).
Technique
Technique
A Coast Scene with Boats , photograph, 1980
The foreground details, particularly the seagulls, are treated more fussily than is usual in Whistler's work.
Conservation History
Unknown.
Frame
Unknown.
History
Provenance
- By 1930: owned by Arthur Morrison (1863-1945), London;
- 1946: sold at auction, Morrison sale, Sotheby's, London, 19 March 1946 (lot 242), and bought by Sir Colin Skelton Anderson (1904-1980) for £220;
- 1980-2016: passed by family descent to the present owner.
It was acquired at some time unknown by the writer and collector, Arthur Morrison, London, who lent it to the Tate Gallery in the summer of 1930.
Exhibitions
It was not exhibited in Whistler's lifetime.
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. 285), plate 190, as 'A Coast Scene with Boats'.
Authored by Whistler
- None.
Catalogues 1855-1905
- None.
Journals 1855-1905
- None.
Monographs
- None.
Books on Whistler
- None.
Books, General
- None.
Catalogues 1906-Present
EXHIBITION:
- Since the Impressionists, Wildenstein & Co., London, 1945 (cat. no. 42, repr.) as 'Seascape'.
- Young, A. McLaren, James McNeill Whistler, Arts Council Gallery, London, and Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1960 (cat. no. 55).
SALE:
- Sotheby's, London, 19 March 1946 (lot 242) as 'A Coast Scene with Boats', repr.
Journals 1906-Present
- None.
Websites
- None.
Unpublished
- None.
Other
- None.
Notes:
1: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 285).
2: Young, A. McLaren, James McNeill Whistler, Arts Council Gallery, London, and Knoedler Galleries, New York, 1960 (cat. no. 55); note in GU WPP files. It was dated 'Possibly painted 1884/5' in YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 285).
3: Since the Impressionists, Wildenstein & Co., London, 1945 (cat. no. 42).
4: Sotheby's, London, 19 March 1946 (lot 242).
5: YMSM 1980 [more] (cat. no. 285).
6: Dated note, October 1971, GUL WPP files.