Nocturne in Blue and Silver

In the 1870s, James McNeill Whistler exhibited a series of paintings depicting the Thames at night. He focused on the stretch of river in Battersea seen from his Chelsea home, a view dominated by the industrial buildings of Morgan’s Patent Plumbago Crucible Company (whose clock tower can be seen to the left of the canvas). The artist used a limited palette, thin layers of paint, and simple compositions inspired by Japanese woodblock prints. Originally referred to as "moonlights," Whistler responded to his patron Frederick Leyland’s suggestion that he retitle the paintings as "nocturnes," a phrase commonly associated with the music of Frédéric Chopin. Though first exhibited in 1878, Whistler did not add his famous butterfly signature to this painting until the early 1880s.

Gallery label for installation of YCBA collection, 2020