James McNeil Whistler

by Lisa N. Peters

Takes a critical look at the works of James McNeill Whistler.

80 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

About the author

Lisa N. Peters is an art historian who has taught, covering topics in American art (her area of specialty), along courses in modern art and art history survey. She has curated exhibitions, lectured widely, and published both as research director at Spanierman Gallery (1986–2012) and independently.

Reviews

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant, short coffee table book about an interesting character. Whistler had a current-day-like sense of himself as a brand. Some of his paintings were great, but some of even the great ones had elements that seemed unfinished or amateurish. Often, hands look wrong, like the art from the first generation of public AI programs. Whistler's romantic life reminds one of the Modern Lovers song 'Pablo Picasso': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejmE-...
Is there a book about why these painters were so popular with the ladies? Or about the models? Some of them were mistresses slash business managers, personal assistants, etc. It doesn't seem like a good deal.
Reduced-size prints can't do justice to paintings, but these look pretty good.

[G Hodges · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a thin coffee table book. It is a short summary of Whistlers life, plus many plates of his amazing work. Because brush strokes are so important, any book on canvas/paint art will fail, ultimately. Often, I had to remember an image in my minds eye from when I saw it in person. This is a nice overview of the painters life and work.