James Abbott McNeill Whistler – Landscapes

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834 – 1903) was an American artist active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.

He was averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, and was a leading proponent of the credo “art for art’s sake.”

He found a parallel between painting and music and entitled many of his paintings “arrangements,” “harmonies,” and “nocturnes,” emphasizing the primacy of tonal harmony.

Whistler influenced the art world and the broader culture of his time with his artistic theories and his friendships with leading artists and writers.

A Tour of James Abbott McNeill Whistler – Landscapes

• Southend Pier – Freer Gallery of Art 
• Green and Silver: Beaulieu, Touraine – Freer Gallery of Art 
• Sea and Rain – University of Michigan Museum of Art

Southend Pier by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Southend Pier by James Abbott McNeill Whistler depicts groups of people walking at the water’s edge. Southend Pier, a major landmark in Southend-on-Sea, in southeastern Essex, England, is in the background.

In the early 19th century, Southend was growing as a seaside holiday resort. The coast at Southend consists of extensive mudflats, so the sea is never deep even at full tide. 

The pier was built to allow boats to reach Southend at all tides. By 1848 it was the longest pier in Europe at 7,000 feet (2,100 m). 

By the 1850s, the railway had reached Southend with it a significant influx of visitors from London. After this painting was made, it was decided to replace the pier with a new iron pier.

Southend Pier

• Title:                         Southend Pier
• Artist:                       James McNeill Whistler
• Year:                        1884
• Medium:                  Watercolor on paper
• Dimensions              Height: 182 mm (7.16″); Width: 257 mm (10.11″)
• Museum:                  Freer Gallery of Art

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“Green and Silver: Beaulieu, Touraine”

“Green and Silver: Beaulieu, Touraine” by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

“Green and Silver: Beaulieu, Touraine” by James Abbott McNeill Whistler depicts a green meadow, with a house and trees in the distance.

A child with red pants stands in the foreground, with another figure beyond in the background.

Green and Silver: Beaulieu, Touraine

• Title:                          Green and Silver: Beaulieu, Touraine
• Artist:                        James McNeill Whistler
• Year:                         1888
• Medium:                   Watercolor on linen mounted on board
• Dimensions              Height: 129 mm (5.07″); Width: 216 mm (8.50″)
• Museum:                  Freer Gallery of Art 

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Sea and Rain by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Sea and Rain by James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Sea and Rain by James Abbott McNeill Whistler depicts a melancholy figure, partly obscured by the translucent blue of a tidal pool.

This tonal composition does not startle modern viewers accustomed to abstract art. Still, the minimalism in Whistler’s paintings was unorthodox to a public that was used to the highly finished Academic painting of the period.

This highly nuanced painting that evokes the cool, damp, early autumn day at the beach was a new form of art for 1865.

Whistler traveled to the resort town of Trouville in Normandy, France, to paint with fellow-artist Gustave Courbet.

Whistler’s painting style was unlike Courbet’s signature thick application of paint. Whistler’s understated palette and thin veils of color do not provide a narrative with minimal details about the site or weather.

Sea and Rain

• Title:                          Sea and Rain
• Artist:                        James McNeill Whistler
• Year:                         1865
• Medium:                   oil on canvas
• Dimensions               w100.3 x h77.4 x d6.5 (work with frame)
• Museum:                   University of Michigan Museum of Art

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834 – 1903) was an American artist active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom.

He was averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, and was a leading proponent of the credo “art for art’s sake.”

He found a parallel between painting and music and entitled many of his paintings “arrangements,” “harmonies,” and “nocturnes,” emphasizing the importance of tonal harmony.

Whistler influenced the art world and the broader culture of his time with his artistic theories and his friendships with leading artists and writers.

His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger for a tail.

James McNeill Whistler

• Name:             James Abbott McNeill Whistler
• Born:               1834 -Lowell, Massachusetts, US
• Died:               1903 (aged 69) – London, England, UK
• Nationality: American
• Movement: Founder of Tonalism
• Notable works:
  • Whistler’s Mother
  • Arrangement in Gray: Portrait of the Painter
  • Symphony in White, No. 1 (The White Girl)
  • Arrangement in Gray: Portrait of the Painter
  • Variations in Pink and Grey: Chelsea
  • James Abbott McNeill Whistler – Landscapes
  • Nocturne: Blue and Silver – Chelsea by James Abbott McNeill Whistler
  • The Peacock Room
  • The Princess from the Land of Porcelain
  • Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket
  • Nocturne: Blue and Gold – Southampton Water
  • Harmony in Pink and Grey (Portrait of Lady Meux)
  • Arrangement in Black, No. 5

James Abbott McNeill Whistler in London

An American in London: Whistler and the Thames

 

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“You shouldn’t say it is not good. You should say, you do not like it, and then, you know, you’re perfectly safe.”
– James Abbott McNeill Whistler

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Photo Credit: 1)  James Abbott McNeill Whistler [Public domain]