The Beach, Ostend
Classification
Department
Smithsonian Collection
Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Credit
Gift of Charles Lang Freer
Accession Number
F1906.128
Tags
About this artwork
Whistler etchings are identified by "G" numbers as assigned in "James McNeill Whistler: The Etchings, a catalogue raisonne," by Margaret F. McDonald, Grischka Petri, Meg Hausberg, and Joanna Meacock (University of Glasgow, 2012), http://etchings.arts.gla.ac.uk. This print is G353 state 1 of 1.
Art Historical Context
James McNeill Whistler’s “The Beach, Ostend” captures a quiet moment of leisure along the Belgian coast in 1887. Created as an etching and catalogued as G353 (state 1 of 1) in the comprehensive raisonne of Whistler’s prints, the work reflects the artist’s lifelong fascination with everyday scenes rendered through delicate line and subtle tonal effects. Though the precise medium details remain limited, its classification as a print highlights Whistler’s mastery of etching, a technique he used to suggest atmosphere and movement with remarkable economy. The composition features a woman and child...