WHISTLER.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume IV, Issue 242, 26 September 1914, Page 4 (Supplement)

WHISTLER.

Few modern painters have been more discussed than Whistler, who died on July 17, 1903. He was, it is true, proficient in the “ gentle are of making enemies,’’ hie personal vanity and caustic sallies lending themselves readily to unfriendly criticism. But, apart from the man himself, his art was fiercely attacked.

A celebrated art critic referred to " Cockney impudence,” and declared Whistler charged unduly high prices for " flinging a pot of paint in the public's face.” The painter’s “ nocturnes ” and “ harmonies ” in colour shocked a generation to which Impressionism was new and Cubists were all unknown.

The libel suit brought by Whistler against Ruskin was for the moment the talk of the town. Cross-examined by counsel, the artist proved a match for his legal tormentors. “ How long did it take you to paint this picture? ” " A few hours.’’ “ Do you consider ten pounds a justifiable price for a few hours’ work? ” “ Yes. It took me ten years to learn to paint such a picture in a few hours.”

When a new generation arose, Whistler’s artistic talent was better recognised. His ‘ Portrait of My Mother,” in the Luxembourg (National Gallery of Contemporary Artists) at Paris, hangs in the place of honour, and is yearly visited and admired by thousands of Anglo-Saxons as well as Frenchmen.