James Abbot McNeill Whistler

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James Abbot McNeill Whistler

• American Realist

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Whistler1834 1903

• The Thames in Ice. 1860. Oil on canvas. Freer
  Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, USA.
• Whistler was a major influence on the
  Impressionist movement, for his brushwork, which
  is loose, strong and spontaneous, but also
  because of his compositions, which were
  influenced by the Japanese and Realism, instead
  of the solid, Republican Neo-Classicists, or the
  sentimental Romantics.

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Whistler1834 1903

• Variations in Flesh Color and Green The Balcony.
  1864-70. Oil on wood. Freer Gallery of Art,
  Washington, DC, USA.
• This painting was created after Whistler viewed
  Japanese prints, which were very popular at the
  time in Europe.
• Japanese prints were used like souvenir postcards
  of journeys also embody the spirit of Japanese
  country, landscapes, and seasons. They show all
  social classes and show both nature and human
  nature.

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Whistler

• Rose and Silver, or The Princess from the Land
  of Porcelain, 1863-64, Freer Gallery of Art,
  Smithsonian Institution, Washington D.C.
• Japanese woodblock prints (below) mixed the
  strong lines of woodblock with a soft, almost
  brushlike quality in the inks.

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Whistler1834 1903

• Averse to sentimentality in painting, he was a
  leading proponent of the credo "art for art's
  sake, which means the art - brushwork, color,
  line, are more important than the subject matter.
• Finding a parallel between painting and music,
  Whistler titled many of his works 'harmonies' and
  'arrangements'.
• Symphony in Flesh Color and Pink Portrait of
  Mrs. Frances Leyland. 1871-3. Oil on canvas. The
  Frick Collection, New York, USA.

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• Arrangement in Grey and Black The Artist's
  Mother (1871) popularly known as Whistler's
  Mother.
• Whistler is best known for this nearly
  monochromatic full-length figure. The painting
  was purchased by the French government and is
  housed in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. He
  insisted this was an arrangement of shapes, color
  and values, not a portrait, and that it could be
  anyone, any thing portrayed, not a particular
  person.

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Whistler

• Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2 Portrait of
  Thomas Carlyle, 1872-73, Glasgow Museum and Art
  Gallery

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Falling Rocket1875 Detroit Institute of
ArtsWhistler was ridiculed publicly for this
painting, so he sued for libel. He won the suit,
but the jury awarded him only 20 guineas, which
was an insult.
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Nocturne, Blue and Silver, also known as
Chelsea, 1871, Tate Gallery, LondonWhile the
Impressionists raved about his work, the public
was appalled at the loose, easy brushwork. Some
said it was done too quickly, and was not
finished.