Nocturne: The Solent
Annabel Lee
Nocturne in Blue and Gold: Valparaiso Bay
Chelsea in Ice (1864)
Harmony in Blue and Silver Trouville, 1865
Gold and Grey, the Sunny Shower - Dordrecht
Nocturne, Blue and Silver: Chelsea, 1871
Nocturne Blue and Gold : Southampton Water, 1872
Nocturne Blue and Silver - Battersea Reach (1870-75)
Holker: “What is the subject of Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket?”
Whistler: “It is a night piece and represents the fireworks at Cremorne Gardens.”
Holker: “Not a view of Cremorne?”
Whistler: “If it were A View of Cremorne it would certainly bring about nothing but disappointment on the part of the beholders. It is an artistic arrangement. That is why I call it a nocturne….”
Holker: “Did it take you much time to paint the Nocturne in Black and Gold? How soon did you knock it off?”
Whistler: “Oh, I ‘knock one off’ possibly in a couple of days – one day to do the work and another to finish it…” [the painting measures 24 3/4 x 18 3/8 inches]
Holker: “The labour of two days is that for which you ask two hundred guineas?”
Whistler: “No, I ask it for the knowledge I have gained in the work of a lifetime.”
