Public collection via the Art Institute of Chicago
AT-00001318Violet and Silver—The Deep Sea
Inscriptions
Artist insignia recto, bottom-right, on sea, in blue paint: [butterfly].
Provenance
James McNeill Whistler, London and Paris, 1893; sold to John A. Lynch (1853–1938), Chicago, 1894 [inscribed on verso of painting: “Exhibited in salon of the / Champ de Mars. 1894 / & / bought in my Studio, Paris / in October of that year by / John A. Lynch, of Chicago. / J. McNeill Whistler.”]; bequeathed to his wife, Clara Margaret Lynch (1872–1954), Chicago, 1938; Estate of Clara Margaret Lynch, Chicago, 1954; given to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1955.
Exhibition history
London, Tate Gallery, James McNeill Whistler, Nov. 12, 1994–Jan. 8, 1995; Paris, Musee d'Orsay, Feb. 6–Apr. 30, 1995, Washington DC, National Gallery of Art, May 29–Aug. 20, 1995.
Publications
Judith A. Barter, et al., The Age of American Impressionism: Masterpieces from the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2011), cat. 18. Margaret F. MacDonald, Grischka Petri, "Violet and Silver: A Deep Sea," The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler: A Catalogue Raisonné, University of Glasgow, accessed June 3, 2020, https://whistlerpaintings.gla.ac.uk/catalogue/display/?mid=y411, as Violet and Silver: A Deep Sea (ill.). Jay A. Clarke and Sarah Kelly Oehler, eds., Whistler Paintings and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2020), cat. 34 (ill.), http://artic.edu/digitalwhistler. Kimberley Muir and Annelise K. Madsen, "Sea Change: Uncovering Whistler’s Violet and Silver," From the Conservation Studio, July 15, 2025, https://www.artic.edu/articles/1206/sea-change-uncovering-whistlers-violet-and-silver.
Data retrieved from the Art Institute of Chicago on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Quick Overview
- Artist
- James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)
- Date
- 1893
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 50.2 × 73.3 cm (19 3/4 × 28 7/8 in.)
- Type
- Painting
- Classification
- painting
- Style
- Impressionism
- Place
- Brittany
- Department
- Arts of the Americas
- Credit line
- Gift of Clara Margaret Lynch in memory of John A. Lynch
- Accession no.
- 1955.743
More by James McNeill Whistler in museum collections
Study for "Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle"
James McNeill Whistler1872–73 · Painting
Public collection via the Art Institute of Chicago
AT-00000171
Public collection via the Art Institute of Chicago
AT-00000181
Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown: Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy
James McNeill Whistler1894 · Painting
Public collection via the Art Institute of Chicago
AT-00000601
Public collection via the Art Institute of Chicago
AT-00000649
Open-access museum record · AT-00001318
Powered by Art Trackers