Note in Blue and Opal&#151;The Sun Cloud
date: label: Date
content: 1883 or 1884
name: label: Artist
content: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
notes: label: Label
content: Ten of the St. Ives oils, including Note in Blue and Opal: The Sun Cloud, were included in an exhibition of Whistler's work that opened at the Dowdeswells' Gallery in London in May 1884. One unusually sympathetic reviewer praised several of the St. Ives subjects for their "high finish" (provocatively redefining "finish" in a very unconventional way) and bravura brushwork: "Beauty of handling and high finish will be specially noticed in the landscapes, principally Cornish, particularly 'Blue and gold-The Schooner' [private collection]; 'Harmony in brown and gold-Old Chelsea Church', 'Grey and silver mist' , and 'Blue and grey-Unloading' [all Freer Gallery of Art];' the most brilliant in colour being a 'Note in blue and opal-the Sun Cloud.'" Recent research suggests that this review was submitted by one of the Gallery owners-and that much of it had been written by Whistler.
label: Label
content: Quotations from [Walter Dowdeswell], Mr. Whistler and His Art, Artist and Journal of Home Culture, June 1, 1884.
label: Provenance
content: To 1904
label: Provenance
content: Wickham Flower (circa 1836-1904), London, to 1904 [1]
label: Provenance
content: 1904
label: Provenance
content: Colnaghi, London, purchased at the sale of the Wickham Flower Collection, Christie's, December 17, 1904 [2]
label: Provenance
content: From 1904 to 1919
label: Provenance
content: Charles Lang Freer (1854-1919), purchased from Colnaghi in 1904 [3]
label: Provenance
content: From 1920
label: Provenance
content: Freer Gallery of Art, gift of Charles Lang Freer in 1920 [4]
label: Provenance
content: Notes:
label: Provenance
content: [1] According to Curatorial Remark 1 in the object record: " Purchased from Mr. Desprez of P. and D. Colnaghi and Co., London, in 1904, and by them purchased at Christie's Sale, December 17, 1904, of the Wickham Flower Collection."
label: Provenance
content: [2] See Original Whistler List, Paintings, pg. 15-1/2, Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives.
label: Provenance
content: [3] See note 2.
label: Provenance
content: [4] 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: 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: 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: 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 (March 20, 1981 to September 24, 1981)
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: 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: A Selection of Art Objects from the Freer Collection Exhibited in the New Building of the National Museum (April 15 to June 15, 1912)
label: Exhibition History
content: Inaugural Exhibition, The Toledo Museum of Art (January 17 to February 12, 1912)
label: Exhibition History
content: Exposition des Oeuvres de James McNeill Whistler (May 1905)
label: Exhibition History
content: "Notes"—"Harmonies"—"Nocturnes" (May 1884)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Wickham Flower (ca. 1836-1904)
label: Previous custodian or owner
content: Colnaghi (established 1760) (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: farming
label: Topic
content: cloud
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: F1904.314a-c
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: 12.4 x 21.7 cm (4 7/8 x 8 9/16 in)