James McNeill Whistler
Artists & Illustrators|September 2021
By treating his portraits as “arrangements” and his landscapes as fields of colour, the American artist was ahead of his time, as STEVE PILL explains
STEVE PILL
James McNeill Whistler

James McNeill Whistler was an American artist, trained in Paris and famed for his London nocturnes, yet his connections to Scotland ran surprisingly deep. He only visited the country once as a teenager, yet he was embraced as one of their own. The Glasgow Boys called him “The Master” and petitioned for the Corporation of Glasgow to buy his Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 2: Portrait of Thomas Carlyle, becoming the first public collection to own Whistler's work. The University of Glasgow, meanwhile, gave him an honorary doctorate and is now home to the world’s largest public display of the artist’s work, comprising 80 oil paintings and more than 1,700 works on paper, as well as almost 300 artworks made by his late wife Beatrix, all thanks to a bequest from his sister-in-law Rosalind.

The origin of these Celtic connections is the subject of one of Whistler’s most famous paintings, Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1: Portrait of the Artist’s Mother. Anna Matilda McNeill Whistler was born in North Carolina, yet also had Scottish ancestry, being descended from the Highland McNeills of Barra. “[James] would accentuate these aspects of his lineage for exotic effect after becoming an expatriate,” wrote his biographer, Lisa N Peters.

That maternal portrait was painted while Whistler was living with his mother in London’s Chelsea. Although it is now celebrated as a “Victorian Mona Lisa”, it came narrowly close to being refused by the Royal Academy of Art’s annual exhibition in 1872, apparently on the grounds of it being presented as an “arrangement” not a portrait. Nevertheless, it was a sign that the artist’s focus was shifting.

Denne historien er fra September 2021-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra September 2021-utgaven av Artists & Illustrators.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA ARTISTS & ILLUSTRATORSSe alt
Still life IN 3 HOURS
Artists & Illustrators

Still life IN 3 HOURS

Former BP Portrait Award runner-up FELICIA FORTE guides you through a simple, structured approach to painting alla prima that tackles dark, average and light colours in turn

time-read
5 mins  |
March 2022
Movement in composition
Artists & Illustrators

Movement in composition

Through an analysis of three masterworks, landscape painter and noted author MITCHELL ALBALA shows how you can animate landscape composition with movement

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2022
Shane Berkery
Artists & Illustrators

Shane Berkery

The Irish-Japanese artist talks to REBECCA BRADBURY about the innovative concepts and original colour combinations he brings to his figurative oil paintings from his Dublin garden studio

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
The Working Artist
Artists & Illustrators

The Working Artist

Something old, something new... Our columnist LAURA BOSWELL has expert advice for balancing fresh ideas with completing half-finished work

time-read
2 mins  |
March 2022
Washes AND GLAZES
Artists & Illustrators

Washes AND GLAZES

Art Academy’s ROB PEPPER introduces an in-depth guide to incorporating various techniques into your next masterpiece. Artwork by STAN MILLER, CHRIS ROBINSON and MICHELE ILLING

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
Hands
Artists & Illustrators

Hands

LAURA SMITH continues her new four-part series, which encourages you to draw elements of old master paintings, and this month’s focus is on capturing hands

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
Vincent van Gogh
Artists & Illustrators

Vincent van Gogh

To celebrate The Courtauld’s forthcoming landmark display of the troubled Dutch master’s self-portraits, STEVE PILL looks at the stories behind 10 of the most dramatic works on display

time-read
6 mins  |
March 2022
BRING THE drama
Artists & Illustrators

BRING THE drama

Join international watercolour maestro ALVARO CASTAGNET in London’s West End to paint a dramatic street scene

time-read
7 mins  |
March 2022
Serena Rowe
Artists & Illustrators

Serena Rowe

The Scottish painter tells STEVE PILL why time is precious, why emotional responses to colour are useful, and how she finds focus every day with the help of her studio wall

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2022
Bill Jacklin
Artists & Illustrators

Bill Jacklin

Chatting over Zoom as he recovers from appendicitis, the Royal Academician tells STEVE PILL about classic scrapes in New York and his recent experiments with illustration

time-read
8 mins  |
March 2022