Grey and Silver: Old Battersea Reach
James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)1863
View the original$24
Type
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Materials & printing
Archival matte paper, 189 g/m² (10.3 mil), sourced from Japan, printed with multicolor water-based inkjet so every brushstroke stays crisp. Framed prints arrive ready to hang in a .75″ ayous-wood frame with an acrylite front. Sized to standard frames by cropping, never stretching — at most about 3% comes off one edge, which isn’t noticeable on most pieces, and we only offer a size when it stays that small.
Shipping & returns
Made to order and delivered in 5–8 business days (2–4 to print, 3–4 in transit). US shipping only for now. Because each print is made for your order, all sales are final — but if it arrives damaged or defective, send us a photo within 14 days and we’ll replace it free. Full policy.
Why is it this affordable?
A thin, flat margin on every piece — just enough to keep the store running. Most of what you pay is the print itself. We only sell sizes that reproduce at full quality, and we don’t mark up the large sizes the way most shops do.
About this work
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.
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 50.8 × 68.6 cm (20 × 27 in.)
Museum record · 1 owner · 19 exhibitions
Provenance
- The artist, from 1863 to about 1889; sold to Mrs. Aglaia Coronio (born Ionides, 1834–1906), London, from about 1889 to 1892; consigned to Boussod, Valadon & Co., Paris, by May 30, 1892; sold to Mrs. Potter Palmer (Bertha Palmer, born Honoré, 1849–1918), Chicago, May 30, 1892, for £450; by descent to her sons, Honoré Palmer (1874–1964) and Potter Palmer II (1875–1943), 1918; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1922.
Exhibitions
- London, England, The Royal Academy of the Arts, Exhibition of the Royal Academy of the Arts: The Ninety–Ninth, 1867, cat., as Battersea.
- Paris, France, Palais Royal: Galerie D Orleans, Exposition Universelle De 1867, London, England, Queen’s Square, College for Working Men and Women, 1889. cat., as The Old Battersea Bridge.
- London England, Goupil Gallery, Nocturnes, Marines, and Chevalet Pieces: J. McNeil Whistler, Chelsea, cat., lent by Madame Coronio.
- Boston, Massachusetts, The Copley Society, Memorial Exhibition of the Works of the Late Mr. J. McNeill Whistler: Oil Paintings, Watercolors, Pastels and Drawings, Feb. 1904, cat., as The Thames, lent by Mrs. Potter Palmer.
- Paris, France, Palais de l’Ecole des Beaux–Arts, Exposition des Oeuvres de James McNeill Whistler, May 1905, cat., as Sur la Tamise (On the Thames), lent by Mrs. Potter Palmer.
- Chicago, The University of Chicago Renaissance Society, Wieboldt Hall, Summer Exhibition: Sea and Land and City Streets, June 8–Aug. 30, 1933, cat..
- Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, June 1–Nov. 1, 1934, cat..
- San Francisco, M.H. DeYoung Memorial Museum, Palace of the Legion of Honor, Exhibition of American Painting: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Paintings, June 7–July 7, 1935, cat., ill. Richmond, The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Main Currents in the Development of American Painting: Inaugural Exhibition of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Jan. 16–Mar. 1, 1936, cat., ill. Art Institute of Chicago, Summer Exhibitions, July 20–Oct. 29, 1939, cat..
- Pittsburgh, Pa.
- Carnegie Institute, Department of Fine Arts, Survey of American Painting, Oct. 24–Dec. 15, 1940.
- Art Institute of Chicago, Sargent, Whistler and Mary Cassatt, Jan. 14–Feb. 25, 1954, Frederick Sweet, cat.; New York, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Mar. 25–May 23, 1954.
- Art Institute of Chicago, Two Centuries of American Art, 1750-1950, Oct. 1, 1959–Jan. 10, 1960, no cat..
- London, England, The Arts Council Gallery, Sept. 1–24, 1960, James McNeill whistler, An Exhibition of Paintings and Other Works, Andrew McLaren Young, cat.; New York, The Knoedler Galleries, Nov. 2–30, 1960.
- Art Institute of Chicago, James McNeill Whistler, Jan. 13–Feb. 25, 1968, Frederick Sweet, cat. as Grey and Silver Battersea Reach; Utica, New York, Munson–Williams–Proctor Institute, Mar. 17–Apr. 28.
- Art Institute of Chicago, Whistler: Prints and Paintings, May–Aug. 31, 1979.
- Albi, France, Musee Toulouse–Lautrec, Trésors Impression nistes du Musée, Jean Devoisins, June 27–Aug. 31, 1980, cat., ill. as Gris et argent: Old Battersea Reach.
- London, England, Barbican Art Gallery, The Image of London: Views by Travellers and Emigrés, 1550–1920, Malcolm Warner, cat., ill. Songs on Stone: James McNeill Whistler and the Art of Lithography The Art Institute of Chicago June 6–Aug. 30, 1998; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa Oct. 2, 1998–Jan. 3, 1999.
- Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada, Turner, Whistler, Monet, Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Canada; 12 June 2004 – 5 Sept. 2004; Grand Palais, Paris from 16 Oct. 2004 – 16 Jan; and Tate Britain, London 12 Feb. 2005 – 15 May 2005.
- London, Dulwich Picture Gallery, An American in London: Whistler and the Thames, Oct. 16, 2013–Jan. 12, 2014; Andover, Addison Gallery of American Art, Feb. –Apr. 13, 2014; Washingon DC, Freer Gallery of Art, May 2–Aug. 17, 2014; Japan, National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Sept. 13–Nov. 16, 2014; Japan, Yokohama Museum of Art, Dec. 6, 2014–Mar. 1, 2015; U.S. venues only.
