Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/562

WHISTLER. 476 WHISTLER. in the first rank. Being executed ■nith consider- able detail, tliese plates met with greater appro- bation than those of his later life, when he had carried the process of selection to its logical con- clusion. His later subjects were taken from Holland, France, and other localities which he visited, but the best known are the First Venice Series (1880) and the f^econd Venice Series (1881). They are the culmination of his etch- ing, and place him in the same rank with Eembrandt, the world's greatest etcher, whom he even excels in selection and subtlety of exe- cution. In the rendition of color and of light and shade, in the subtle grouping of line, these works are miique. Whistler was also high- ly successful in dry-point etching and lithograph- ic drawing, in which media he executed a num- ber of plates. Some 300 of his etchings have been published with comments by Frederic Wed- more ( 1899) , and good examples may be found in the print-rooms of the Venice Academy. Dresden Gallery, Biblioth&que Nationale, British Museum, Lenox Library, New York, and elsewhere. The eccentricities of Whistler and his quarrels with English artists and critics during his long stay in London (1858-90) were, for a long time, better known than his paintings. He was of a very combative disposition, and profoundly im- pressed with the importance of his own views. His central idea was that painting should appeal only to the eye, and that it was not a medium for the expression of ideas or emotions, the sub- ject being absolutely irrelevant. Emphasizing the analogy with music, he called his paintings arrangements, sxTnjihonies, nocturnes, and the like, pitching them in one or two related color tones. For him the public and the critics were a set of ignoramuses, who had no right to an opinion whatever. He quarreled indiscriminately with friend and foe, chiefly by means of public letters, in which lie gave Vent to an inimitable wit and satire. Especially well known is his quarrel with .John P.uskin, who in his Ars Clavi- gera (1877) had given vent to his feelings over one of Whistler's "Xocturnes"' in the following language: "I have seen and heard much of cock- ney impudence before now ; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot nf paint in the public's face." The artist promptly sued for damages, and in the celebrated trial which followed he was awarded one farthing, which coin he triumph.antly wore as a watch charm ever afterwards. To propagate his ideas he turned increasingly to literature, developing a style as well balanced as it is clear and incisive. Ten o'clock (1888), a lecture delivered at that hour of night, is a statement of his artistic theories; his other works are The Ocnlle Art of Mal-inij Enemies (1890), in which he was past master, and the Bnronet and the Butterfly (1890), an account of a celebrated quarrel. Nn artist ever had a more interesting signature than Whistler's butterfly, by the action of which he endeavored to render a Benlimenl of the letter to which it was afl!ixcd. From 18.58 till 1889 Whistler resided chiefly in London, making frequent journeys to Paris, and it was at this period that he executed most of his principal works. Best known among them is the portrait of the ".rtist's Mother" (Luxem- bourg) — an arrangement in gray and black, ex- ecuted with rather more detail than most of his works. It is impossible to conceive of a more charming picture of placid domesticity than this dear, old-fashioned lady. Of equal merit is his portrait of Carlyle ( 1872, Glas- gow Museum), in which he has immortalized the grand old thinker. His portrait of the little Miss Alexander, an arrangement in gray and green, is infinitely delicate and subtle in execu- tion. These portraits are not mere faces or fig- ures, but rather figure paintings, in which the well-arranged backgroimds are as masterful and as essential as the images. Other celebrated ex- amples of female portraits are Rose Whistler ( 18G2, Boston Museum), Lady Archibald Camp- bell (1888, rhiladelphia), Miss Rosa Corder (Richard Canfield), Lady in a Fur Jacket," and Lady Meux, an arrangement in pink and gray. His portraits of men include those of his friend Theodore Duret. Comte de Jlontesquieu (Richard Canfield), and the violinist Sarasate, an arrange- ment in black (Pittsburg Academy). Among his celebra'ted figure subjects are "At the Piano" (1867), showing the passing influence of his friend Rossetti: "La princesse du pays de la porcelaine" (1808); the "Music Room," a har- mony in green and gold; the "Balcony:" and the wonderful "Symphony in White, No. 3," almost Hellenic in spirit. Few artists had as broad a range of subjects as Whistler. His landscapes portray the mys- terious beauty of the night and the majesty of the ocean; who before him saw the splendor of the London fog? He discovered beauty in all about him, in the squalid quarters of London and in the commonplace of the drawing-room as well as in the magic canals of Venice. Among his principal 'Nocturnes' are the "Falling Ttockets" (black and gold) ; "Saint Mark's, Venice" (blue and gold) ; "Battersea Beach" (blue and silver); and "Chelsea Snow" (gray and .gold). Among marine views are "Valpar.aiso Harbor," a twilight scene in flesh color and green; "Blue Wave, Biarritz;" and "The Ocean" (gray and green). To these must be added some of the many views of London, like "Trafalgar Square." "Last of Old Westminster," and "Westminster Bridge." He also executed many fascinating water-colors, and his Venetian pastelles certainly equal, in delicacy and refinement, anything that has yet been done in that medium. As a decorator Whistler was equally impor- tant, and his soft restful colors have exercised a wide influence upon household decoration. Among his best known decorations are- the music- room of his friend Sarasate in white and clove color (Paris) ; the celebrated "Peacock Room" in Mr, Leyland's house (London), in blue and gold, the motive of which is derived from the eye in the feathers of a peacock's tail ; and his own beautiful house in London. For a long time Whistler did not meet with deserved recognition. In 1887 he was elected president of the Royal Society of British Artists; tuider his administraiion the quality of art ex- hibited by the society greatly improved, but its finances declined, and in 1889 Wliistler and his following wiflulreiv. He himself said, "The artists have come out, and the British remain." .t the close of 1889, when he received the Cross of the Legion of Honor (0|fic<'r, 1891), he re- moved to Paris, residing there until a short time before his death in London, ,Tuly 17, 1903. The