Article by Judith Schrut, email Judith
“As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight”. So proclaimed James MacNeill Whistler, born in Massachusetts in 1834, but who lived much of his life in London. Here, he mixed with the foremost artists and society people of the day, linked up with the French Impressionists, and painted his most famous works. In his younger years he was known for being eccentric and bohemian, a wearer of strange hats, monocles and flamboyant moustaches. In his mature years, Whistler became president of the Society of British Artists and had numerous admirers, including Queen Victoria.
His mother Anna followed him to London in 1864 and thus was available at short notice to pose for Whistler’s most celebrated painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, better known as Whistler’s Mother. Unfortunately for Whistler however, when his strict and religious mother moved in, his long-time mistress and creative muse moved out.
The story goes that Whistler’s model failed to turn up, so out of desperation he asked Mom to pose instead. At first, she had to stand while he painted her. But Whistler’s painstakingly slow and careful painting methods soon exhausted his mother. So down she sat, and that renowned profile was born. Nonetheless, Mom had to sit dozens of times before he considered her portrait complete.
You can trace Whistler ’s London footsteps to his homes in Hampstead Heath and Cheyne Walk, Chelsea, where he died in 1903, and where he is remembered with a blue plaque and nearby statue. A good selection of his works can be seen at Tate Britain, although if you want to see Mom you’ll need to make a detour to the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. If you’re a serious Whistler scholar, the place to go is University of Glasgow’s Centre for Whistler Studies. It’s astonishing collection of Whistleriana includes over 10,000 dinner invitations, telegrams, legal documents, business, family and love letters.
Further information: www.gla.ac.uk/services/specialcollections/collectionsa-z/whistlerarchive
Image: Whistler’s Mother, copyright Musee d’Orsay, Paris