Symphony in Grey: Early Morning, Thames
date: label: Date
content: 1871
name: label: Artist
content: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
notes: label: Label
content: Whistler exhibited this painting both as a “Harmony” and as a “Symphony” rather than as a Nocturne, but this view of Battersea at dawn shares the same features as many of the artist’s moonlit scenes of the Thames. Thinly painted, it conveys a sense of space and movement through the sweeping brushstrokes that move across the canvas from left to right. Whistler’s butterfly signature appears on a cartouche in the manner of Japanese printmakers.
label: Provenance
content: To 1904
label: Provenance
content: William Marchant & Co., London, to 1904 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1904 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from William Marchant & Co. in 1904 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [3]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 12, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives. Purchased in April 1904.
label: Provenance
content: [2] See note 1.
label: Provenance
content: [3] The original deed of Charles Lang Freer's gift was signed in 1906. The collection was received in 1920 upon the completion of the Freer Gallery.
label: Collection
content: Freer Gallery of Art Collection
label: Exhibition History
content: A Perfect Harmony (October 14, 2017 to October 8, 2023)
label: Exhibition History
content: An American in London: Whistler and the Thames (May 3 to August 17, 2014)
label: Exhibition History
content: Freer & Whistler: Points of Contact (February 23, 2008 to January 3, 2016)
label: Exhibition History
content: Mr. Whistler's Galleries: Avant-garde in Victorian London, 1883 (November 20, 2003 to April 4, 2004)
label: Exhibition History
content: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) (April 3, 2001 to January 24, 2008)
label: Exhibition History
content: Art for Art's Sake (July 23, 1997 to January 24, 2008)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler & Japan (May 14, 1995 to January 1, 1996)
label: Exhibition History
content: Arrangement in Yellow and Gold: Paintings by James McNeill Whistler (March 14, 1986 to April 1, 1987)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler 1834-1903 (February 6, 1985 to March 4, 1986)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler (January 17, 1985 to (end date unknown))
label: Exhibition History
content: James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art: Artist and Patron (May 11, 1984 to January 17, 1985)
label: Exhibition History
content: Winter into Spring: American Landscapes (March 4, 1982 to June 1, 1982)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings (March 20, 1981 to September 24, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler 1834-1903 (September 16, 1981 to March 26, 1984)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler (November 11, 1976 to March 18, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Paintings by James McNeill Whistler (August 1, 1974 to December 5, 1975)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler Paintings (October 15, 1969 to September 25, 1971)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler Paintings (September 8, 1961 to October 15, 1969)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings (June 9, 1960 to September 8, 1961)
label: Exhibition History
content: Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 10 and 11 (February 25, 1956 to November 3, 1959)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Oil Paintings, Gallery 3, 1955 (December 16, 1955 to February 25, 1956)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings, Gallery 3, 1947 (September 25, 1947 to April 12, 1955)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, Whistler Oil Paintings (February 12, 1944 to May 10, 1945)
label: Exhibition History
content: Untitled Exhibition, American Oil Paintings (May 1, 1933 to February 6, 1944)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler Landscapes, Oil (January 20, 1928 to May 1, 1933)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler Oils Exhibition (January 8, 1925 to January 20, 1928)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings by J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to January 8, 1925)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings, J.A.McN. Whistler (May 2, 1923 to February 12, 1944)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: William Marchant & Co. (flourished 1907-1925) (C.L. Freer source)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919)
place: label: Origin
content: United States
topic: label: Topic
content: landscape
label: Topic
content: river
label: Topic
content: beach
label: Topic
content: United States
label: Topic
content: American Art
label: Topic
content: Charles Lang Freer collection
setName: label: Related Online Resources
content: Google Arts & Culture
label: See more items in
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Collection
creditLine: label: Credit Line
content: Gift of Charles Lang Freer
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery
identifier: label: Accession Number
content: F1904.50a-b
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Oil on canvas
label: Dimensions
content: H x W (frame): 100 × 79.7 cm (39 3/8 × 31 3/8 in)