The World of Whistler 1834-1903

200 Pages·1970·36.58 MB·English

by  Tom Prideaux

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Th( J of Whistler
x\san apostle ofartistic freedom,James
McNeill Whistler felt it his right to make a
spectacle ofhimself. Ever in revolt against
the stuffiness and rigidity ofVictorian
society, this painter-showman carried
innumerable chips on his shoulders.
His self-satisfied bohcmiamsm may have
masked feelings ofnever being completely at
home, for he spent most ofhis lite as an
American expatriate in England. But a
deeper motive forhisbehavioristo be found
in hisconception oftheartist'srolein society.
In contrast to the popular Victorian belief
that art should be edifying, Whistler's cry
was: Art for Art's Sake. Artists, he argued,
.
should be responsible to nothing and no
one, with beauty their only master.
With this credo to guide him, Whistler
played a flamboyant role in the movement
that was to liberate art from the excesses of
19th Century sentimentality and open the
way for the abstract art ofthe 20th Century.
In so doing, the young American made some
powerful enemies, most notably the critic
John Ruskin, who considered Whistler's
canvases chaotic and meaningless. Whistler,
severely threatened by a Ruskin review of
one ofhis paintings, immediately sued the
critic for libel. The curiously tragi-comic
trial that followed was a landmark in art
history.
The WorldofWhistler presents the artist's
life and works against the background of
the Victorian era and introduces the reader
to some ofthe most interesting figures of
the period: HenryJames, Thomas Carlylc,
Algernon Charles Swinburne...Sir Edward
Burne-Jones, William Morris,John Singer
Sargent...Gustave Courbet, Henri Fantin-
Latour and, ofcourse, one ofthe most
famous mothers ofall times, Anna Whistler.
More than 125 illustrations (almost halfin ^?%.
!uil (olor) and nine picture essays detail the
;iri;.ius S';;,^cs ofWhistler's career and th'-
' cr-ri' ' " ,.>- ofhis contemporaries.

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759.13 The world of Wlustler, 1834-1903, by Tom Prideaux and
Whist- tlie editors of Time-Life Books. New York, Time-Life
Iq-^ Books [1970]
191 p. illus,,col. plates, ports. 32 cm. (Time-Lifelibraryofart)
7.95
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riMI 1.11 1. LIBRARY OF ARI
The World
of
Whistler
1854-1905
by Tom Prideaux
and
the Editors of Time-Life Books
Time-Life Books, New York
AbouttheAuthor
Formorethan 25 years an editorand drama critic for Life, Tom Prideauxretired
from thatmagazine in 1970 to becomea full-time freelance writer. He came byhis
interestinWhistlerwhilewritingThe WorldofDelacroixfortheTime-LifeLibrary
ofArt.Intheyoungerartist,whocametoParistostudywhileDelacroixstoodatthe
apexofhiscareer,Mr.Prideauxdiscoverednotonlyapainterwhohelpedtotakeart
in new directions, but a man whose innate theatricality he found immensely
appealing. A playwright himself, Mr. Prideaux is also the author, with Josephine
Mayer,ofabookonancientEgypt,NevertoDie.
TheConsultingEditor
H. W. Janson is Professor of Fine Arts at New York University, where he is also
ChairmanoftheDepartmentofFineArtsatWashingtonSquareCollege.Amonghis
manypublicationsareHistoryofArtand TheSculptureofDonatello.
TheConsultantforThisBook
Theodore Reff is Professor of Art History at Columbia University, and has also
taughtatTheJohnsHopkinsUniversityandPennsylvaniaStateUniversity.Aformer
fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study and of the John Simon Guggenheim
Memorial Foundation, Dr. Reff has edited the letters of Toulouse-Lautrec, is now
editingthenotebooksofDegas,and istheauthorofnumerouspublicationson 19th
and20thCenturyart.
Onthe Slipcase
ThisdetailfromWhistler'sNocturneinBlueandGold: OldBatterseaBridgeshows
theelegant simplicityand subtle tonal harmony characteristicof the artist. Behind
theoldwoodenbridgeinthemoonlight,thegoldensparksoffallingfireworksadda
touch of warmth to the otherwise cool coloration. The complete painting is
reproducedonpage135.
EndPapers
Front: Drawing, painting and etching the Thames was a favorite occupation of
Whistler. This etching, done in the 1870s, is of London's Old Putney Bridge. The
artist'sfamiliarbutterflyemblemisatlowerrightcenter.Back:Thelightandcolor
ofVeniceservedWhistlerasaprofoundinspiration.ThisisaviewoftheRivadegli
SchiavoninearthePiazzaSanMarco,doneabout1880.
TIME-LIFE BOOKS TIME-LIFE LIBRARY OF ART
editor: MaitlandA.Edey SERIESEDITOR:RobertMorton
ExecutiveEditor:JerryKorn EditorialstaffforTheWorldofWhistler:
TextDirector:MartinMann TextEditor:JayBrennan
ArtDirector:SheldonCotler PictureEditor:KathleenShortall
ChiefofResearch:BeatriceT.Dobie Designer:PaulJensen
PictureEditor:RobertG.Mason StaffWriters:JohnvonHartz,PaulaPierce,
AssistantTextDirectors:OgdenTanner,DianaHirsh SuzanneSeixas,TonyChiu
AssistantArtDirector:ArnoldC.Holeywell ChiefResearcher:MarthaT.Goolrick
AssistantChiefofResearch:MarthaT.Goolrick Researchers:MurielClarke,VilletteHarris,
AssistantPictureEditor:MelvinL.Scott SusanJonas,SusannaSeymour
DesignAssistant:MervynClay
PUBLISHER:WalterC.Rohrer
GeneralManager:JosephC.HazenJr. EDITORIAL PRODUCTION
BusinessManager:JohnD.McSweeney ColorDirector:RobertL.Young
ProductionManager:LouisBronzo Assistant:JamesJ.Cox
CopyStaff:RosalindStubenberg,PatriciaMiller,
SalesDirector:JoanD.Manley FlorenceKeith
PromotionDirector:BeatriceK.Tolleris PictureDepartment:DoloresA.Littles,
ManagingDirector,International:JohnA.Millington ElizabethDagenhardt
Traffic:ArthurA.Goldberger
ThefollowingindividualsanddepartmentsofTimeInc.helpedtoproducethisbook:
Life staff photographer Carlo Bavagnoli; Editorial Production, Robert W. Boyd
Jr.,MargaretT.Fischer; Editorial Reference.PeterDraz; PictureCollection,Doris
O'Neil; Photographic Laboratory, George Karas; Time-Life News Service, Murray
J. Gart; Correspondents Maria Vincenza Aloisi (Paris), Martha Bucknell and
Phyllis Wise (Washington, D.C.), Nat Carnes (San Juan), Margot Hapgood and
RosemaryYoung (London!,SerrellHillman (Toronto) andAnnNatanson (Rome).
©1970TimeInc.Allrightsreserved.
PublishedsimultaneouslyinCanada.
LibraryofCongresscataloguecardnumber70-116437.
SchoolandlibrarydistributionbySilverBurdettCompany,Morristown,NewJersey.
Contents
A Yankee-Doodle Dandy 11
I
II American on the Thames 37
III Brotherhood of Radicals 61
IV Whistler's Mother 77
V Triumph and Turmoil 101
VI A Scandalous Trial 121
VII Veneration in Venice 141
VIII "Art for Art's Sake" 167
Chronology ofArtists: 186
Bibliography: 187
Credits and Acknowledgments: 188
Index: 189
Whistler'sengagingarroganceisunmistakablein
thismultipleportraitetchingmadeinthe 1880s
byMortimerMenpes.