The Sea and Sand
date: label: Date
content: 1884
name: label: Artist
content: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
notes: label: Label
content: The Sea and Sand is one of the simplest and most abstract of the St. Ives paintings. Whistler began by covering his panel with an unusual dark blue ground. Probably working from the top of the panel down, he used broad horizontal strokes of gray to establish the sky. In the foreground, broader horizontal bands of a browner pigment establish the beach. A few narrow strokes of a slightly bluish white create the frothing caps of the breaking waves. The three main horizontal bands are secured by a few shorter verticals that indicate people and by the squat oval of Whistler's famous butterfly monogram.
label: Provenance
content: To 1902
label: Provenance
content: Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934), London, to 1902 [1]
label: Provenance
content: From 1902 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Henry Studdy Theobald, London, in August 1902 [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] Undated folder note sheet, Object file. See also Original Whistler List, Purchases from Theobald, pg. 2, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
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: Whistler in Watercolor (May 18 to November 3, 2019)
label: Exhibition History
content: Small Masterpieces: Whistler Paintings from the 1880s (April 2, 2005 to November 11, 2008)
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: American Art - James McNeill Whistler (May 9, 1993 to June 30, 1997)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler 1834-1903 (February 6, 1985 to March 4, 1986)
label: Exhibition History
content: James McNeill Whistler at the Freer Gallery of Art—Whistler and the Landscape (May 11, 1984 to February 5, 1985)
label: Exhibition History
content: American Paintings: James McNeill Whistler (November 11, 1976 to March 18, 1981)
label: Exhibition History
content: Whistler—Landscapes and Seascapes (October 14, 1969 to September 25, 1971)
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: Inaugural Loan Collection of Paintings (May 31 to July 1, 1905)
label: Exhibition History
content: Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler (February 23 to March 22, 1904)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Henry Studdy Theobald (1847-1934) (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: water
label: Topic
content: ocean
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: F1902.151a-b
objectType: label: Type
content: Painting
objectRights: label: Restrictions & Rights
content: CC0
physicalDescription: label: Medium
content: Oil on wood panel
label: Dimensions
content: H x W: 13.4 x 23.4 cm (5 1/4 x 9 3/16 in)