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Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea

A work made of oil on canvas.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of oil on canvas.

Date:

1893

Artist:

James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)

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.

Status

On View, Gallery 273

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

James McNeill Whistler

Title

Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea

Place

Brittany (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1893

Medium

Oil on canvas

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."

Dimensions

50.2 × 73.3 cm (19 3/4 × 28 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of Clara Margaret Lynch in memory of John A. Lynch

Reference Number

1955.743

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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.

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