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James Abbott McNeill Whistler

American painter (1834-1903) · United States · Artists · Died at 69

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He called his most famous painting an "arrangement in grey and black." The world called it Whistler's Mother - and turned it into the defining image of maternal devotion, which must have irritated a man who spent his career insisting that art had nothing to do with sentiment.

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A life in dates

1903Died17 July 19031892“Shall the painter then.. ..decide upon painting? Shall he be the critic and sole authority?”In their wordsquote of Whistler, (1892) In: Gentle Art of making Enemies, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1922, p. 30

Officer of the Legion of HonourAward1890“To say of a picture, as is often said in its praise, that it shows great and earnest labor, is to say that it is incomplete and unfit for view.”In their wordsPropositions, 2

1885“Art is a goddess of dainty thought, reticent of habit, abjuring all obtrusiveness, purposing in no way to better others.”In their wordshis lecture 'Ten O'Clock' (1885)

“Listen! There was never an artistic period. There was never an art-loving nation.”In their wordshis lecture 'Ten O'Clock' (1885)

1878“Why should not I call my works 'symphonies', 'arrangements', 'harmonies', and 'nocturnes'?..”In their wordsQuote in a letter to 'The World', London 22 Mai, 1878; as cited in Letters of the great artists - from Blake to Pollock, Richard

1834“[another part / version of Whistler's lecture:]Nature contains the elements, in colour and form, of all pictures, as the keyboard contains the notes of all music.”In their wordsin: James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), Weinberg, H. Barbara, 'Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History'. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of

Born10 July 1834

Also in Deutsch

Photos 8

Whistler SelbstporträtWhistler Selbstporträt110 rue du Bac Paris110 rue du Bac Paris110 rue du Bac110 rue du Bac1904 Whistler Copley Hall Boston LC1904 Whistler Copley Hall Boston LC1904 Whistler CopleyHall Boston LC1904 Whistler CopleyHall Boston LC1911 Chromolithograph of Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2, Portrait of Thomas Carlyle1911 Chromolithograph of Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2, Portrait of Thomas CarlyleA Dream - Charles C. Curran. Michaelmas daisies - F.D. Millet. Brother and sister - Abbott H. Thayer. Variations in flesh-color and green-the balcony - James McNeill Whistler. Pottery market LCCN91725856A Dream - Charles C. Curran. Michaelmas daisies - F.D. Millet. Brother and sister - Abbott H. Thayer. Variations in flesh-color and green-the balcony - James McNeill Whistler. Pottery market LCCN91725856A portrait, miss Howells - estampe - Whistler - btv1b8559540qA portrait, miss Howells - estampe - Whistler - btv1b8559540q

In their own words 10

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James Abbott McNeill Whistler
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10 statements, newest first

  1. Shall the painter then.. ..decide upon painting? Shall he be the critic and sole authority?

    1892, quote of Whistler, (1892) In: Gentle Art of making Enemies, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1922, p. 30, Own words

  2. The rare few, who, early in life, have rid themselves of the friendship of the many.

    1890, Dedication, Own words

  3. To say of a picture, as is often said in its praise, that it shows great and earnest labor, is to say that it is incomplete and unfit for view.

    1890, Propositions, 2, Own words

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Awards

Officer of the Legion of Honour1892

Family

Parents

James Abbott McNeill Whistler

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About this person

James Abbott McNeill Whistler was born July 10, 1834, and built his career primarily in the United Kingdom, painting in oils and watercolor while championing "art for art's sake" against Victorian moralizing. He signed his work with a stylized butterfly carrying a stinger - delicate art, combative man - and titled his paintings like musical compositions: "arrangements," "harmonies," "nocturnes," chasing tonal harmony over narrative. Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1, painted in 1871, became the thing he couldn't escape, endlessly reproduced and parodied as the icon of motherhood he never intended it to be. His aesthetic theories and friendships with leading artists and writers shaped the culture around him until his death on July 17, 1903.

Country
United States
Category
Artists
Type
Artist
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1834 to 1903 · aged 69

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