Tuesday December 13, 1870, 14:55 – London, UK. Before James painted his “Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1” he experimented with a focus on composition, a harmony of shapes; an abstraction perhaps indicative of art for art’s sake. When I caught up with him in London, he had painted a colorful seascape (which many years later would be revived in a piece called “Bathing Posts”). He was a perfectionist and he was obviously searching for something else. He wanted to emphasize an arrangement of shapes so we decided to layer on top of the seascape just for fun.
As the piece progressed, the beach became a mural that transcended the wall. He put a portrait of an old man on it. I got the sense that he wanted to harmonize colors as well, but what really caught his attention was a cloud formation above the ship. He zeroed in on that and made adjustments to the clouds. The path suddenly became clear to him. Limit the palette and harmonize the tones. It was an atypical portrait he was after. He knew what he had to do.
