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Note in Pink and Brown

ca. 1880
Not on view
While visiting Venice in 1879–80 to make a series of etchings for the Fine Art Society, London, Whistler also made almost one hundred pastels, including this evocative example of an everyday scene along one of the city’s canals. The title of this picture reflects the musical vocabulary that Whistler used to identify much of his work. The pink "note" is the drapery hung from the balcony at upper left (echoed in the tint of the woman’s dress and some of the bricks on the building’s facade); the brown is the window frame above. One critic described the pastels as "perfect works" for their ability to evoke the essence of the city with only the "slightest sketch."

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Note in Pink and Brown
  • Artist: James McNeill Whistler (American, Lowell, Massachusetts 1834–1903 London)
  • Date: ca. 1880
  • Culture: American
  • Medium: Charcoal and pastel on dark brown wove paper
  • Dimensions: 11 3/4 x 7 1/4 in. (29.8 x 18.4 cm)
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.97.5
  • Curatorial Department: The American Wing

More Artwork

More Artwork
Nocturne: Palaces, James McNeill Whistler American, Etching and drypoint; printed in dark brown ink on drum mounted medium weight ivory laid paper.
Nocturne: Palaces
James McNeill Whistler
1879–80
Powder Horn, Horn (cow), lead, American
Powder Horn
American
18th century
The Artist's Wife (Périe, 1849–1887) Reading, Albert Bartholomé French, Pastel and charcoal on wove paper, laid down on blue wove paper, laid down on stretched canvas
The Artist's Wife (Périe, 1849–1887) Reading
Albert Bartholomé
1883
Nocturne (Nocturne: The Thames at Battersea), James McNeill Whistler American, Lithotint with scraping on a prepared half-tint ground, printed in soft gray-black ink on pale blue laid chine mounted on ivory wove plate paper; second state of two (Chicago)
Nocturne (Nocturne: The Thames at Battersea)
James McNeill Whistler
1878
Man and Two Women (Henderson Ledger Artist B), Frank Henderson Native American, Pencil, colored pencil, and ink on paper, Arapaho
Man and Two Women (Henderson Ledger Artist B)
Frank Henderson
ca. 1882

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