James Abbott McNeill Whistler
(American, 1834–1903)
Biography
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was a seminal American artist known for his paintings and etchings. His iconic Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1871), also known as Whistler’s Mother, is one of the most famous portraits of the 19th century. He painted in a style which emphasized layers of wet paint, gradually building tonal contrasts much like his contemporary Édouard Manet. “Paint should not be applied thick. It should be like a breath on the surface of a pane of glass,” he once advised. Born on July 10, 1834 in Lowell, MA, he and his family moved to St. Petersburg, Russia in 1842 for his father’s job as a railway engineer. Whistler studied at the Imperial Academy of Fine Arts at only 11 years old, returning to the United States with his mother after his father’s death in 1849. He briefly attended the United State Military Academy at West Point before being dismissed for disobedience and poor grades. Arriving in Paris in 1855, with little money and few prospects, he fell into the milieu of Henri Fantin-Latour, Gustave Courbet, and Charles Baudelaire. Over the following decades his work become increasingly sought after, living between London and Paris, Whistler produced several depictions of the River Thames and fell under the influence of Japanese woodcuts. The artist infamously sued the British art critic John Ruskin in 1877, who scathingly attacked Whistler’s painting Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket (c. 1875) in a review. He died on July 17, 1903 in London, United Kingdom. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and the Tate Gallery in London, among others.
Most Expensive Artwork Sold at Auction
Harmony in grey - Chelsea in ice, 1864 - 1864
Sold price: 2,866,000 USD
James Abbott McNeill Whistler Artworks
.jpg "Turkeys (from Twenty-six Etchings), 1979–1980")
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Turkeys (from Twenty-six Etchings), 1979–1980
Sale Date: October 30, 2007
Auction Closed
.jpg "The two doorways (from Twelve Etchings), 1879–1880")
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
The two doorways (from Twelve Etchings), 1879–1880
Sale Date: October 30, 2007
Auction Closed
.jpg "Old Westminster Bridge (from Sixteen Etchings), 1859")
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Old Westminster Bridge (from Sixteen Etchings), 1859
Sale Date: October 30, 2007
Auction Closed
.jpg "La vieille aux loques (from Twelve Etchings..., 1858")
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
La vieille aux loques (from Twelve Etchings..., 1858
Sale Date: October 30, 2007
Auction Closed
.jpg "Fumette (from Twelve Etchings from Nature), 1858")
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Fumette (from Twelve Etchings from Nature), 1858
Sale Date: October 30, 2007
Auction Closed
.jpg "Little Arthur, from Twelve Etchings..., 1857–1858")
James Abbott McNeill Whistler
Little Arthur, from Twelve Etchings..., 1857–1858
Sale Date: October 30, 2007
Auction Closed
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