UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

beach, children, parasol, people, sea, ship.

Only one title is known, with mild variations in spelling and punctuation, as follows:


'The Beach Ostende' (1880s, Whistler). 3
'The Beach Ostend' (1887/1888], Whistler). 4
'Ostend The Beach' (190/1892, Beatrice Whistler (1857-1896)). 5
The Beach, Ostend' (1909, Howard Mansfield (1849-1938)). 6


'The Beach, Ostend' is the generally accepted title.

At far left, two women and four children are standing or playing at the water's edge. Behind them is a tall pole with a globe on top. To right of these figures, two women, one holding an umbrella, sit on a bench, and to right of them a woman is standing looking out to sea. In the foreground, a child stands looking down at a toddler sitting on the beach; behind them, to right, two people - possibly an adult and child - are bending down looking at something at the edge of the sea. In the distance are two small sailing boats, and on the horizon at left, a larger steam ship.

The long, sandy beach adjoining the important fishing and ferry port of Ostend , Belgium. Whistler also etched The Canal, Ostend [352], Fishing Quay, Ostend [351], Fish Women, Ostend [349] and Market Place, Ostend [350] in Ostend.

Other beach subjects include The Beach, Hastings [150], Speke Shore [139], Fishing Boats, Hastings [163], Dieppe [251] and The Visitors' Boat [303]. Of these, Dieppe [251] is closest in composition and style, a vignetted scene punctuated with figures scattered across an almost blank area, the spaces and broken lines creating a spacious, atmospheric effect despite the small scale of the etching..