James Abbott MacNeill Whistler (1834–1903)

Brief Biography of the Artist

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (July 11 1834 – July 17 1903) was an American artist, painter, printmaker, designer and collector active in England and France. He developed from the Realism of Courbet and Manet to become, in the 1860s, one of the leading members of the Aesthetic Movement and an important exponent of Japonisme. He increasingly adopted non-specific and often musical titles for his work, which emphasised his interest in the manipulation of colour and mood for their own sake rather than for the conventional depiction of subject. He acted as an important link between the avant-garde artistic worlds of Europe, Britain and the USA.

Read full Wikipedia entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Abbott_McNeill_Whistler

Whistler in the Archive Collections

Substantial material:

Frank Simpson Archive

Frank Simpson (1911–2002) was an amateur art historian. He worked as Librarian at The Barber Institute of Fine Art, Knoedler & Co. and at the Paul Mellon Centre for Studies in British Art. The archive contains records from the London office of Knoedler’s, which detail works of art which passed through their London, New York and Paris branches, and includes three files specifically relating to works of art by Whistler. These files contain information about approximately 50 works which passed through the saleroom between 1913 and 1971. The type of information for each work varies, but may include photographs, correspondence and pedigree information. The archive also contains three files of material relating to James McNeill Whistler: An Exhibition of Paintings and Other Works, 1 – 24 September 1960 and 2 – 30 November 1960, which was co-organised by M. Knoedler & Co. The Frank Simpson Archive has been catalogued and the descriptions can be searched online.

Brian Sewell Archive

Brian Sewell (1931–2015) was a British art historian, author, critic and media personality. His highly acclaimed work for the Evening Standard and other publications led him to write on a huge range of subjects, but particularly the arts. The archive contains one file which, alongside handwritten notes and research material, includes Sewell’s reviews of exhibitions featuring Whistler between 1984 and 2013. The Brian Sewell archive has been catalogued and the descriptions can be searched online.

The above archive collections contain substantial amounts of material for Whistler. You may also discover smaller quantities of material, such as individual letters referencing the artist, research notes and photographs, by searching the online catalogue and boxlists.

Whistler in the Photographic Archives

• The Paul Mellon Centre Photo Archive consists of mounted reference images depicting works of art. It has been digitised in its entirety, and contains 25 images associated with James Abbott McNeill Whistler.
• The Tate Photo Archive has not been digitised, but contains five folders of images associated with Whistler. It can be accessed on site with an appointment.

Whistler in the Library

The Library has large amounts of material on this artist.

• Books – over 70 books, including biographies, artist monographs, art criticism and catalogues raisonnés, dating from early twentieth century to the present day.
• Exhibition catalogues – over 50 exhibition catalogues from national museums and private galleries in the UK, Europe and around the world.
• Journal articles – over 40 journal articles that have been individually catalogued from journals such as Apollo, the Burlington Magazine and the Whistler Review.

Whistler in Paul Mellon Centre Publications

The Paul Mellon Centre has published a number of books concerning Whistler. In 1980 Andrew McLaren Young, Margaret MacDonald, Robin Spencer and Hamish Miles published a catalogue raisonné of Whistler’s paintings. Margaret F. MacDonald’s catalogue raisonné of the artist’s drawings, pastels and watercolours was published in 1995. Alastair Grieve wrote a monograph on Whistler’s Venice in 2000 and Anna Gruetzner Robins’ book on the relationship between the artist and Impressionism was published in 2007.