Note in Blue and Opal—The Sun Cloud

James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) · 1883 or 1884

Ten of the St. Ives oils, including Note in Blue and Opal: The Sun Cloud, were included in an exhibition of Whistler's work that opened at the Dowdeswells' Gallery in London in May 1884. One unusually sympathetic reviewer praised several of the St. Ives subjects for their "high finish" (provocatively redefining "finish" in a very unconventional way) and bravura brushwork: "Beauty of handling and high finish will be specially noticed in the landscapes, principally Cornish, particularly 'Blue and gold-The Schooner' [private collection]; 'Harmony in brown and gold-Old Chelsea Church', 'Grey and silver mist' , and 'Blue and grey-Unloading' [all Freer Gallery of Art];' the most brilliant in colour being a 'Note in blue and opal-the Sun Cloud.'" Recent research suggests that this review was submitted by one of the Gallery owners-and that much of it had been written by Whistler.