Oil paint on canvas
Tate Collection
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Contemporary Art Society
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<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/alfred-sisley-1948" aria-label="More by Alfred Sisley" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Alfred Sisley</a>
Path to Old Ferry at By
Bequeathed by Montague Shearman through the Contemporary Art Society 1940
adults
architecture
bank
Champagne
cities, towns, villages (non-UK)
countries and continents
domestic
figure
France
laundering
natural features (non-UK)
natural phenomena
path
people
places
reflection
river
River Seine
townscapes / man-made features
tree
village
water: inland
woman
work and occupations
<p>By is a village a few miles north-west of Moret, where Sisley lived from 1880 onward. The village on the opposite bank is Champagne. A ferry across the river was in operation until 1864 and again between 1870 and 1872. Three washerwomen can be seen in this work. This was a common sight on this stretch of the river as can be seen in another picture painted close by, titled 'Washerwomen near Champagne'.</p><p><em>Gallery label, August 1993</em></p>
painting oil paint canvas
5 March 1997
5 March 1997
1997-03-05
National Gallery (London, UK)
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk
1997-03-05
Long Loan to the National Gallery
Loan-out
17 May 2008 – 21 September 2008
2008-09-21
17 May 2008 – 21 September 2008
2008-09-21
2008-05-17
Bowes Museum (Barnard Castle, UK)
http://www.bowesmuseum.org.uk
2008-05-17
Alfred Sisley - Impressionist Landscapes
Loan-out
11 September 2011 – 29 January 2012
2012-01-29
11 September 2011 – 29 January 2012
2012-01-29
2011-09-11
Von der Heydt Museum (Wuppertal, Germany)
2011-09-11
Alfred Sisley
Loan-out
22 October 2013 – 11 May 2014
2014-05-11
22 October 2013 – 5 January 2014
2014-01-05
2013-10-22
Tokyo Fuji Art Museum (Tokyo, Japan)
http://www.fujibi.or.jp/
15 January 2014 – 2 March 2014
2014-03-02
2014-01-15
Fukuoka Art Museum (Fukuoka, Japan)
11 March 2014 – 11 May 2014
2014-05-11
2014-03-11
Museum of Kyoto (Kyoto, Japan)
2013-10-22
Impressionists at Waterside
Loan-out
8 June 2021 – 14 January 2024
2024-01-14
8 July 2021 – 14 November 2021
2021-11-14
2021-07-08
Museum of Art Pudong (Shanghai, China)
20 December 2021 – 8 May 2022
2022-05-08
2021-12-20
Buk-Seoul Museum of Art (Seoul, South Korea)
15 June 2022 – 13 November 2022
2022-11-13
2022-06-15
ACMI (Melbourne, Australia)
25 February 2023 – 25 June 2023
2023-06-25
2023-02-25
Auckland Art Gallery (Auckland, New Zealand)
12 July 2023 – 2 October 2023
2023-10-02
2023-07-12
National Art Center (Tokyo, Japan)
26 October 2023 – 14 January 2024
2024-01-14
2023-10-26
Nakanoshima Museum of Art (Osaka, Japan)
2021-06-08
Light
Tate partnerships & programmes
1 May 2025 – 1 May 2026
2026-05-01
1 May 2025 – 1 May 2026
2026-05-01
2025-05-01
National Gallery (London, UK)
http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk
2025-05-01
National Gallery Bicentenary
Loan-out
The Path to the Old Ferry at By
frame: 700 × 848 × 99 mm
support: 498 × 651 mm
Bequeathed by Montague Shearman through the <a href="/search?gid=999999975" data-gtm-name="tombstone_link_bequest" data-gtm-destination="list-page--search-results">Contemporary Art Society</a> 1940
<p>By is a village a few miles north-west of Moret, where Sisley lived from 1880 onward. The village on the opposite bank is Champagne. A ferry across the river was in operation until 1864 and again between 1870 and 1872. Three washerwomen can be seen in this work. This was a common sight on this stretch of the river as can be seen in another picture painted close by, titled 'Washerwomen near Champagne'.</p>
Display caption
1993-08-19T00:00:00
display-caption
DISPLAY_CAPTION
<p><b>Alfred Sisley</b><span> 1839-1899 </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span><a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/sisley-the-path-to-the-old-ferry-at-by-n05144" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N05144</span></a> </span><b>Le Chemin du Vieux Bac à By</b><span> (The Path to the Old Ferry at By) 1880 </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>Inscribed 'Sisley' b.l.</span>
<br/><span>Oil on canvas, 19 5/8 x 25 5/8 (50 x 65)</span>
<br/><span>Bequeathed by Montague Shearman through the CAS 1940</span>
<br/><i>Prov:</i><span>
With Durand-Ruel, Paris (purchased from the artist 21 June 1882); W.J. Dorflinger, New York, 1901; with Durand-Ruel, Paris, 1927; A. Chartol, Paris, 1928; with Galerie Zak, Paris; with Redfern Gallery, London; Montague Shearman and Sir Rex de C. Nan Kivell, London; Montague Shearman, London</span>
<br/><i>Exh:</i><span>
</span><i>The Masters of the Modern French School</i><span>, Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC, February-March 1911 (44); </span><i>International Exhibition of Modern Art (The Armory Show)</i><span>, New York, February-March 1913 (507); </span><i>Paintings by Alfred Sisley (1840-1899) </i><span>, Durand-Ruel, New York, January 1921 (6); </span><i>Sisley</i><span>, Durand-Ruel, New York, April-May 1927 (20); </span><i>Tableaux de Sisley</i><span>, Durand-Ruel, Paris, February-March 1930 (32); </span><i>The Montague Shearman Collection</i><span>, Redfern Gallery, London, April-May 1940 (24); </span><i>The Tate Gallery's Wartime Acquisitions</i><span>, National Gallery, London, April-May 1942 (125); </span><i>A Selection from the Tate Gallery's Wartime Acquisitions</i><span>, CEMA touring exhibition, September 1942-September 1943 (87); </span><i>Acquisitions of the CAS</i><span>, Tate Gallery, September-October 1946 (71a)</span>
<br/><i>Lit:</i><span>
François Daulte, </span><i>Alfred Sisley</i><span> (Paris 1959), No.398, p.174, repr. p.175 (dated 1880)</span>
<br/><i>Repr:</i><span>
Jean Cassou, </span><i>Die Impressionisten und ihre Zeit</i><span> (Lucerne 1953), pl.32 in colour; George Besson, </span><i>Masters of French Painting, 1850-1950</i><span> (London 1958), p.34 in colour </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>By is a village three or four miles north-west of Moret; the village on the opposite bank is Champagne. Another picture (Daulte No.466) painted a little further forward and looking down the Seine to the left is in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. Entitled 'Washerwomen near Champagne', it shows women washing their clothes in the river where the path turns to the left; three washerwomen can also be seen in this work. The site is only a short distance from that of </span><a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="/art/artworks/N04843" onclick="popTateObjects(event, -1, 'N04843');" title="View details of this artwork"><span>N04843</span></a><span>. </span>
<br/></p>
<p><span>The ferry, taking people across the river to Champagne, was in operation until 1864 and from 1870 to 1872. </span>
<br/></p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/><span>Ronald Alley, </span><i>Catalogue of the Tate Gallery's Collection of Modern Art other than Works by British Artists</i><span>, Tate Gallery and Sotheby Parke-Bernet, London 1981, pp.691-2, reproduced p.691</span>
<br/></p>

Catalogue entry
2003-07-30T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
adults architecture bank Champagne cities, towns, villages (non-UK) countries and continents domestic figure France laundering natural features (non-UK) natural phenomena path people places reflection river River Seine townscapes / man-made features tree village water: inland woman work and occupations