# Pink Note–Shelling Peas

**James McNeill Whistler** (American, 1834–1903)  
1882-1884  
Watercolor on paper  
H x W: 24.3 x 14.6 cm (9 9/16 x 5 3/4 in)

Courtesy of the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, F1902.166a-c. [The museum's record](https://asia.si.edu/object/F1902.166a-c/).

## About this work

An open door at the back of a kitchen frames a woman sitting in a garden; signed with the butterfly at left, on tablecloth.

_Text from the National Museum of Asian Art._

James McNeill Whistler painted this in 1882-1884, aged about 48. It is now at the National Museum of Asian Art in Washington, DC.

### How it was made

- **Watercolour.** Pigment in gum arabic, thinned with water and laid in transparent washes. Nothing white is painted: the light is the paper showing through.

### [James McNeill Whistler](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/james-mcneill-whistler)

American, 1834–1903; born in Lowell, Massachusetts; died in London

Whistler spent part of his boyhood in Russia, left West Point without graduating and trained as a painter in Paris before settling in London in 1859. He held that a picture was an arrangement of colour and form, and named his works symphonies, harmonies and nocturnes; a hostile review of one nocturne led to his 1878 libel suit against John Ruskin. He was equally committed to etching, and in his Venice plates of 1879–80 he left films of ink on the copper to suggest water and dusk.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Painting
- Culture: Americans
- The artist was about 48
- Real size: about 9½ × 5½ in (24 × 15 cm). The 8 × 10 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 19th century
- Movement: [Realism](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/realism)
- Subjects: Crop marks, Iron oxide red, Bone black, Zinc white, Cadmium sulfide, Cerulean blue, Vermilion, Yellow ocher
- Colour: brown
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/1766.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/1766/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/pink-note-shelling-peas-si-fsg-f1902-166a-c).