James McNeill Whistler, Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, 1871 Musée d’Orsay, Paris, France
Tate Britain presents Europe’s largest retrospective in three decades dedicated to James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), a defiantly experimental artist and cosmopolitan celebrity who disrupted Victorian society in his pursuit of truth, beauty and artistic progress.
Bringing together 150 exquisite works of art, the exhibition offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to experience the full breadth of his painting, drawing, printmaking and design, from the iconic Portrait of the Artist’s Mother to a remarkable collection of nocturnes and previously unseen sketchbooks. It also reveals how Whistler created his ethereal visions of modern life and anticipated the future of modern art.
For the very first time, his teenage years are explored through studies produced at the Imperial Academy of Arts in St Petersburg and the United States Military Academy at West Point. These include his earliest notebooks, displayed publicly for the first time. After moving to Paris at the age of 21, Whistler embraced the city’s vibrant bohemian atmosphere and, alongside contemporaries such as Edgar Degas, developed a lifelong interest in working-class subjects and spaces.
