Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy

Executed in 1888, this oil painting likely remained with the artist's family following his death, passing first to his mother, Madame Seurat, and subsequently to his brother-in-law, Léon Appert, and then to Léon's son, Léopold Appert. The work stayed with the Appert family in Paris until 1924, when Léopold sold it to the critic Félix Fénéon; correspondence from March 1924 indicates the piece was then titled La pointe de Cherbourg. Fénéon retained ownership until 1937, lending the canvas to a London exhibition early that year before selling it to Marie N. Harriman of New York in September.

Upon Marie's death, the painting passed by inheritance to her husband, W. Averell Harriman, and later to the W. Averell Harriman Foundation, which donated the work to the National Gallery of Art in 1972.

Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. The museum acquired the work in 1972 as a gift from the W. Averell Harriman Foundation. Prior to this accession, the painting passed through the collections of Félix Fénéon and Marie N. Harriman. Its exhibition history includes a showing at Wildenstein in London during the Seurat and his Contemporaries exhibition, which ran from January 20 to February 27, 1937, where it was listed as number 62.

Later that same year, after its purchase by Marie Harriman, the work was displayed at her New York gallery in November as number 17.

The painting's trajectory from Seurat's studio to public view helped shape its scholarly reputation. After the artist's death it passed through the Appert family, was sold to dealer Félix Fénéon in 1924, and subsequently loaned to the 1937 London exhibition _Seurat and his Contemporaries_, where it was catalogued as “La pointe de Cherbourg.” The work entered the Harriman collection later that year and remained in the family until its donation to the National Gallery of Art in 1972, where it is displayed as part of the museum’s marine paintings.

Its documented provenance and exhibition history have contributed to discussions of Seurat’s late marine subjects and reinforced the painting’s status as a representative example of his pointillist technique.

Georges Seurat's 1888 oil on canvas, Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy, captures a tranquil coastal view. The painting depicts the harbor of Port-en-Bessin, characterized by its distinctive cliffs and the gentle activity of boats. This work is an early example of Seurat's exploration into color theory and light, foreshadowing his more developed pointillist technique.

Created relatively early in Seurat's career, Seascape at Port-en-Bessin, Normandy offers insight into the artist's evolving style. It serves as a valuable point of reference for understanding the progression of his technique, particularly when viewed alongside his more fully realized later works. The painting is housed at the National Gallery of Art in Washington.