Skip to main content

Visit Main Menu Block

  • Hours & Admission
  • Accessibility & Amenities
  • Tours & Group Visits
  • Visitor Guidelines

Exhibitions and Events Main Menu Block

  • Exhibitions
  • Events

Art and Design Main Menu Block

  • The Collection
  • Projects & Publications
  • Past Exhibitions

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Image

Previous 1 2 3 / 3 Next

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Beaching the Boat, ca. 1883-1884

Description

Maker

  • James Abbott McNeill Whistler, 1834-1903, American

Title

Beaching the Boat

Year

ca. 1883-1884

Medium

Watercolor on cream paper

Materials/Techniques

Materials

  • watercolor

Supports

  • paper

Dimensions

13.2 x 22.9 cm (5 3/16 x 9 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

LR:butterfly monogram in watercolor; verso, in pencil, C:No 21-

Type

  • Works on Paper,
  • Drawings and Watercolors

Credit

Anonymous gift

Object Number

70.118.59

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Landscape and Leisure

March 13 - July 19, 2015

Like many of James Abbott McNeill Whistler’s paintings, this view of a beach is more suggestive than descriptive, and presents an exercise in color harmony. Working from the bottom of the composition up, Whistler layered thin veils of broadly brushed color to make up the sea, ranging from delicate greens to cobalt blue. He balanced the blues with the subtler colors of the sky and beach. The figures and boats were painted next, with each figure’s shape carefully delineated. The heads were added last, when the paint was dry.

Whistler made this work while visiting the fishing village of St. Ives in Cornwall, England, in 1883–1884.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Beaching the Boat with the accession number of 70.118.59. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.

Feedback

We view our online collection as a living documents, and our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you have additional information or have spotted an error, please send feedback to curatorial@risd.edu.

RISD Museum

  •  Facebook
  •  Twitter
  •  Instagram
  •  Vimeo
  •  Pinterest
  •  SoundCloud

Footer Main

  • Become a Member
  • Give
  • Who We Are
  • Opportunities
  • Rent the Museum

Footer Secondary

  • Image Request
  • Press Office
  • Rent the Museum
  • Terms of Use