About this artwork
After years of painting seascapes on a significantly smaller scale, James McNeill Whistler returned briefly to a large-format canvas to capture a hot summer day on the water near Brittany, France. The artist likely painted this seascape while boating off the coast as a crewman steadied their vessel. This could account for the unusually broad handling of paint and thick touches of pigment apparent throughout the composition, particularly in the clouds and gently cresting waves. Here, Whistler demonstrated his enduring passion for the myriad relationships of color offered by the ever-changing sea.
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Status
- On View, Gallery 273
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Department
- Arts of the Americas
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Artist
- James McNeill Whistler
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Title
- Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea
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Place
- Brittany (Object made in)
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Date
- 1893
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Medium
- Oil on canvas
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Inscriptions
- Artist insignia recto, bottom-right, on sea, in green paint: [butterfly]. Inscribed verso, top-right, on linen backing, in black ink: ""Violet & Silver. The Deep Sea." / [butterfly, struck through]; inscribed verso, bottom-right, on linen backing, in black ink: "Exhibited in salon of the / Champ de Mars. 1894 // & / bought in my Studio, Paris/ in October of that year by / John A. Lynch, of Chicago./ J. McNeill Whistler."
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Dimensions
- 50.2 × 73.3 cm (19 3/4 × 28 7/8 in.)
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Credit Line
- Gift of Clara Margaret Lynch in memory of John A. Lynch
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Reference Number
- 1955.743
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IIIF Manifest
- https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/84088/manifest.json
Extended information about this artwork
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.