Art Institute of Chicago

Grey and Silver: Old Battersea Reach

James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)

Date

1863

Medium

Oil on canvas

Culture

London

Department

Arts of the Americas

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

James McNeill Whistler painted marine scenes throughout his career, including this depiction of the Thames River, which was a frequent subject in Whistler’s work when he lived in London. Here, he focused on the river’s industrial elements: boats and barges, laboring men, and smoking chimneys. Whistler unified the composition with deft brushwork and a subtle palette of brown and gray that anticipated his later interest in delicate tonal harmonies. The painting’s bold realism and thickly painted surface were inspired by French artist Gustave Courbet, whose work Whistler encountered during his stays in Paris in the mid-1850s and 1860s.

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