ARTIST OF THE WEEK: 29. James McNeill Whistler, ACJ Art Academy

Name: James McNeill Whistler

Born: July 11, 1834; Lowell, Massachusetts, United States

Died: July 17, 1903; London, United Kingdom

Nationality: American

Field: Painting

Art Movement: Aestheticism, Tonalism

Influenced by: Gustave Courbet

Influenced on: Childe Hassam

Teachers: Charles Gleyre

Friends/Co-workers: Henri Fantin-Latour, Edward Poynter, Antonio de La Gándara, Henry Tonks

James McNeill Whistler was an American artist who was active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He hated expressing sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, and was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake".

Whistler’s famous signature for his paintings was a long-tailed stylized butterfly, the symbol that adequately combined both aspects of his personality. His art was characterized by subtle delicacy, while his character was combative. He discovered the similarities between painting and music, and emphasized the top priority of tonal harmony by adding titles such as "arrangements", "harmonies", and "nocturnes" to many of his paintings.

His most famous painting is "The Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1871)", commonly known as "Whistler's Mother", a representative portrait of the symbol of motherhood. Whistler's artistic theory and friendship with leading artists and writers influenced other cultures, including the art world, of his time.

Whistler's mother Anna Whistler (c. 1850s)

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1. Gustave Courbet

2. Charles Gleyre

3. Edward Poynter

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Currently, “J art”, an internet mall of “Art Collage JANG” is selling artprints of worldwide famous artists.

In relation with this sale, I will introduce one by one every week, whose artprints are on the sale list, by following categories.

1. Artist’s Bio: Introduce brief bio of selected artist

2. Famous Works: Move to the corresponding artprints in J art by clicking

3. All Works List: Move to all works of selected artist in J art by clicking

4. Related Artists: Move to the works of the artists in J art, who are related to the selected artist.

5. All Artists List: Move to the list of all artists selling artprints in J art

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Interesting Art Stories: 9. Whistler's Mother, James McNeill Whistler, ACJ Art Academy

How are you?

On every Thursday, I am introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the title “Interesting Art Stories”.

The 9th story for this week is "Whistler's Mother" by an American painter, James McNeill Whistler.

Portrait of the Painter

Best known as “Whistler's Mother”, “Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1” is an oil painting on canvas by American-born painter James McNeill Whistler in 1871. It is one of the most famous paintings by American artists outside the United States. The model in this painting, which measures 1,443 mm × 1,624 mm, is Whistler's mother, “Anna McNeill Whistler,” and the frame was designed by Whistler himself. Currently, the painting is owned by the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, France, after having been bought by the French government in 1891. It has been also called as “an American icon" or "a Victorian Mona Lisa".

Anna Whistler

Anna Whistler became the model for this painting while living with her son at Cheyne Walk, Chelsea in London, England. It cannot be verified, but there are some anecdotes about this painting. One of them is that Anna Whistler was modeled as a replacement for another model her son couldn't make the appointment. Another one is that Whistler originally tried to draw the model standing up, but because his mother's health was not good, it was impossible to pose standing for a long time, hence he drew the painting of a sitting position.

This painting was exhibited at the 104th Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Art in London in 1872. Although Whistler's etching work, “Old Putney Bridge” was exhibited in the exhibition in 1879, it was the last painting he submitted for the Academy's approval for the exhibition. 

Old Putney Bridge, James McNeill Whistler (1879)

Visitors in the Victorian era would not accept a portrait being displayed under the title "arrangement", hence the subtitle "Portrait of the Painter's mother" was added to the painting, and it was later simply called "Whistler's Mother". After seeing the painting, Thomas Carlyle, an English historian, agreed to become a model for another painting of a composition similar to this painting, titled “Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 2”. Therefore, the previous painting, "Whistler's Mother" automatically got the title of "Arrangement in Grey and Black, No. 1".

Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 2 (Thomas Carlyle), (1872-73)

Whistler's works, including this one, had attracted many imitators, especially many similar paintings were drawn by American expatriate painters. The painting displayed in a major museum also helped Whistler to attract wealthy patrons. The image in this painting has been used as an icon for “motherhood”, “affection for parents”, and "family values", especially in the United States since the Victorian era. As an example, in 1934, in the United States, a stamp was issued bearing the slogan "In memory and in honor of the mothers of America" with the portrait detail from "Whistler's Mother". In the borough of Ashland, Pennsylvania, an 8-foot-high statue based on the painting was built as a tribute to mothers by the Ashland Boys' Association in 1938, during the Great Depression.

U.S. postage stamp (1934)

Mothers' Memorial, Ashland, Pennsylvania

Author Martha Tedeschi stated the influence of the painting as follows:

“Whistler's Mother, Wood's American Gothic, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa and Edvard Munch's The Scream have all achieved something that most paintings, regardless of their art historical importance, beauty, or monetary value, have not. These few works have successfully made the transition from the elite realm of the museum visitor to the enormous venue of popular culture”.

American Gothic, Grant Wood (1930)

Mona Lisa, Leonardo da Vinci (c. 1503–1506)

The Scream, Edvard Munch (1893)

“Whistler's Mother” had a profound influence on French composer Claude Debussy. In 1894, Debussy wrote to violinist Eugène Ysaÿe about his "Nocturnes," as "an experiment in the different combinations that can be obtained from one color – what a study in grey would be in painting”.

Claude Debussy

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