Grey and Silver: The Golf Links, Dublin

Grey and Silver: the Golf Links, Dublin is a product of James McNeill Whistler’s visit to the Irish capital in the summer of 1900. Only the artist’s inscription on the back of the paper indicates that the subject is a golf course. The few figures scattered across the ground are treated cursorily, while attention focuses on the distant landscape, suggesting houses and trees on the horizon under a breezy, cloud-swept sky. The image fills the paper and, despite Whistler’s rapid, confident watercolor technique, seems to share little of the concern for abstract compositional values that animates much of his mature work in landscape. The diminutive scale of the work is consistent with Whistler’s practice in his later career and allowed for portability and rapid completion, which appealed to him, as did the opportunity to draw the viewer into a work in which the artistic process was vividly present.

Oil Paintings, Water Colors, Pastels, and Drawings: Memorial Exhibition of the Works of Mr. J. McNeill Whistler, Copley Society, Copley Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, February 1904, no. 138 (as Grey and Silver, 'The Golf Links'-Dublin).

The Works of J. A. McNeill Whistler from the Collection of Mr. Richard Canfield of Providence, Rhode Island, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, September 10–October 10, 1909, no. 7 (as The Golf Links, Dublin).

Austellung Amerikanisher Kunst, Königliche Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, Germany, March–April 1910, no. 102 (as Golf-Platz in Dublin).

Oils, Water Colors, Pastels and Drawings by James McNeill Whistler lent by Mr. Richard Canfield, Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, March 7–April 27, 1911.

Pastels, Etchings and Lithographs by Whistler, Kennedy & Company, New York, New York, November 1914.

Notes, Harmonies, and Nocturnes: Small Works by James McNeill Whistler, M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., New York, New York, November 19–December 27, 1984. [exh. cat.]

A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 21–June 21, 1987. [exh. cat.]

An American Revelation: The Daniel J. Terra Collection, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, February 28–October 1, 1988.

Regard sur James Abbott McNeill Whistler (James Abbott McNeill Whistler at a Glance), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, April 1–October 30, 1994.

American Treasures: Chase, Whistler, and the Prendergasts, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, llinois (organizer). Venue: Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, April 26, 1996–January 5, 1997.

Collection Cameo, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, July 1999.

D'une colonie à une collection: le Musée d'Art Américain Giverny fête ses dix ans (From a Colony to a Collection: Celebrating the Tenth Anniversary of the Musée d'Art Américain Giverny), Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France (organizer). Venue: Musée d'Art Américain Giverny, France, March 30–June 16, 2002.

The Art of Golf, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia and National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh (organizers). Venue: High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia, February 5–June 3, 2012. [exh. cat].

Cary, Elisabeth L. The Works of James McNeill Whistler: A Study, With a Tentative List of Artist's Works. New York: Moffat, Yard & Company, 1907. Ill. facing p. 144.

Works by Whistler Lent by Mr. Richard Canfield. (exh. cat., Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, Albright Art Gallery). Buffalo, New York: Albright Art Gallery, 1911. Ill. no. 9.

MacDonald, Margaret F. Notes, Harmonies & Nocturnes: Small Works by James McNeill Whistler. (exh. cat., M. Knoedler & Company, Inc.). New York: M. Knoedler & Company, Inc., 1984. No. 137, p. 93 (black & white).

Atkinson, D. Scott et al. A Proud Heritage: Two Centuries of American Art. Edited by Terry A. Neff. (exh. cat., Terra Museum of American Art). Chicago, Illinois: Terra Foundation for the Arts, 1987. Pl. T-44, p. 153 (color).

MacDonald, Margaret F. James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels, and Watercolours; A Catalogue Raisonné. New Haven, Connecticut and London, England: Yale University Press, 1995. Text no. 1620, pp. 582–83; ill. no. 1620, p. 582 (color).

Grey and Silver: The Golf Links, Dublin, James Abbott McNeill Whistler. Collection Cameo sheet, Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, Illinois, July 1999. Ill. (black & white).

The Art Of Golf. (exh. cat., High Museum of Art). Atlanta: High Museum of Art, 2012. Text, p. 62; ill. plate 26, p. 62 (color).