Note in Blue and Opal—The Sun Cloud
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
1883 or 1884
Classification
Painting
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1904.314a-c
Tags
American ArtCharles Lang Freer collectionUnited Statescloudfarminglandscape
About this artwork
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 ...