Victorian Art & Design, Whistler 4 the
Ruskin libel trial
In 1877 Whistler was invited to send some of his paintings to the first
exhibition of the new Grosvenor Gallery. The art critic John Ruskin visited the
exhibition. He praised the paintings by Burne-Jones but condemned those by
Whistler. He accused him of 'cockney impudence' and said that he 'had never
expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of
paint in the public face.' Ruskin did not name the painting, but the only
one by Whistler at that price was the Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling
Rocket, now in Detroit.
Whistler sued Ruskin for libel.
Paintings by Whistler and by Old Masters were shown to the jury. Some of the
people in court thought that a Titian was one of Whistler's paintings!
The painter Albert Moore gave the best evidence for Whistler. He was shown
the Nocturne in Blue and Silver: Battersea Bridge, shown on the left. It
is now in the Tate. He
said that it was 'very remarkable'. Of The Falling Rocket he said, 'I
think the atmospheric effects are marvellous'.
Burne-Jones and Frith spoke
as witnesses for Ruskin. Burne -Jones admitted, "In Mr Whistler's pictures
I see marks of great labour and skill", but he criticised his Nocturne
for being "very incomplete" and for its lack of finish.
Whistler was asked how long it took him to 'knock off' The
Falling Rocket. He said that it took him two days to paint it . He was then
asked whether 200 guineas was not too high a price for only two days work. To
this he replied that it was not too much for the 'knowledge of a lifetime'.
Whistler's own account of the case of Whistler versus Ruskin can be found in his
book The
Gentle Art of Making Enemies. (Click on the link at the end of this page for
details of a paperback reprint and other books on Whistler.)
The jury decided that Ruskin was guilty of
libel but it only awarded him one farthing in damages. Both sides had to
pay the court costs and this, with the building costs for his new house,
bankrupted Whistler. The bailiffs occupied his new White House, but he made them serve as
waiters at his dinner parties!
Fortunately, Whistler made a new friend who
helped to rescue him from his troubles. This was Ernest Brown. Soon after
meeting Whistler, Brown started work at the Fine Art Society. He suggested to
the Society that they should pay the expenses for Whistler to visit Venice so
that he could do etchings there. The result was The Venice Set of
etchings, as
well as pastels of Venice done on brown paper.
The Society held two exhibitions of Whistler's Venetian etchings, in 1880 and
1883. Whistler chose the decor
for the second exhibition and called it an 'Arrangement in White and Yellow.' He
even had a footman dressed in white and yellow!
E.W.Godwin was a friend of Whistler and designed his White House in
Chelsea. He was an architect but he also designed furniture, textiles and
wallpapers. Many of his designs were influenced by Japanese art.
Godwin designed the facade of the Fine Art Society's building in New Bond
Street and Oscar Wilde's house. Godwin's striking black side table can be seen
in the British Galleries of the Victoria and Albert Museum.
which were reopened
in 2001
The University of Glasgow's Hunterian
Art Gallery has a very large collection of works and letters
by Whistler and paintings by his wife Beatrix. Around 1500 images are shown
on their website.
hunterian.gla.ac.uk
Books on Whistler and E.W. Godwin.
Whistler Quiz