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Whistler, Freer, and Their Living Legacy by PETER TRIPPI

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Whistler, Freer, and Their Living Legacy by PETER TRIPPI Reprinted with permission from: 800.610.5771 or International 011-561.655.8778. CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE Whistler, Freer, and Their Living Legacy BY PETER TRIPPI GH here has always been something compelling by the Detroit Institute of Arts in 1946.) Eventually, T about the American artist James McNeill Whistler earned another fortune, began designing Whistler (1834-1903). Even now, when the public’s his own exhibitions, and resettled in Paris, which he interest in 19th-century art has ebbed in favor of the perceived as more artistically liberated. He died there, contemporary, Whistler is riding a new wave of popu- mourned internationally as the godfather of the larity, celebrated for his own achievements and cited Tonalist and Pictorialist movements then underway. by artists and designers as an ongoing source of inspi- Though he never lived in the U.S. as an adult, Ameri- ration. Why and how has this come to pass? cans have always claimed Whistler as their own, and For one thing, Whistler was a global citizen before it is no accident that more than 100 museums in 35 that term was coined. Born in Lowell, Massachusetts, states own his artworks. to the pious mother later painted so famously in her The latest wave of Whistlermania has been trig- white bonnet, he grew up in St. Petersburg, Russia, gered in part by Yale University Press’s publication where his father worked as a railroad engineer. After last March of the critically acclaimed book Whistler: an uncomfortable stay at the U.S. Military Academy at A Life for Art’s Sake. Author Daniel E. Sutherland has West Point, young Whistler found his groove studying produced the first Whistler biography in more than art in bohemian Paris. In the 1850s there were more 20 years, and also the first to make extensive use of Giovanni Boldini (1842-1951) wealthy collectors in London, however, so he headed the artist’s private correspondence. Just last Septem- Portrait of James McNeill Whistler there and relished his “outsider” status as the witty ber, PBS aired the new documentary James McNeill 1897, Oil on canvas, 67 1/4 x 37 1/4 in. Yankee who could mingle easily with both aristocrats Whistler & The Case for Beauty, written and directed Brooklyn Museum, New York and laborers. He played the role of the outspoken by Karen Thomas, narrated by Anjelica Huston, and dandy brilliantly, and earned a fortune selling art that featuring Kevin Kline reciting Whistler’s own words, was recognized as important and ahead of its time. which matched in acidic cleverness those of his Starting with morally ambiguous arrangements of friendly rival Oscar Wilde. Lavishly produced, the modern figures inspired by Edgar Degas and the equally film even contains a re-enactment of the process that gifted self-promoter Gustave Courbet, Whistler shifted brought about Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 gradually toward ethereally unfocused scenes of the city — better known as “Whistler’s Mother.” Accompa- and sea that were harmoniously decorative composi- nied by an impressive website, the documentary can tions of color and form, paving the way for 20th-cen- now be purchased as a DVD. tury abstraction. Recycling and personalizing advanced Further fanning the flames of Whistlerma- ideas he had picked up in Paris, he became the English- nia have been two recent exhibitions. Organized speaking world’s loudest advocate for beauty and “art by Glasgow University’s Margaret MacDonald and for art’s sake,” eschewing the specific and anecdotal in Patricia de Montfort, who have spent decades comb- favor of imagery that, like music, could resonate word- ing the trove of art and correspondence bequeathed lessly across all cultures and epochs — at least among by Whistler’s sister-in-law (and primary heir), the elite viewers possessing the discernment needed to grasp exhibition An American in London: Whistler and the their significance. Like other leaders of this so-called Thames drew appreciative crowds in London, Wash- Aesthetic movement, he was smitten by the sudden ington, and Andover, Massachusetts. And in Japan arrival of authentic Japanese and Chinese art in the West, (which Whistler admired but never visited), a large Edward Steichen (1879-1973) adapting it into his own work and arguing that Asian retrospective has closed in Kyoto and is now on view Charles Lang Freer and Western art forms had more in common than not. at the Yokohama Museum of Art through March 1. c. 1916, Platinum print Alas, Whistler’s ego and barbed wit went too Freer Gallery of Art and far in 1878, when he lost everything — including A KINDRED SPIRIT Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Archives his innovative studio-house — during a libel lawsuit Few artists become household names without at against the comparatively conservative critic John least one major collector who also acts as a champion. Ruskin. (The painting that sparked Ruskin’s outburst For Whistler, that ally in America was Charles Lang against Whistler’s supposed sloppiness, Nocturne Freer (1854-1919), who ultimately owned more than in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket, was acquired 1,000 Whistler works. Born in New York’s Hudson 48 FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 Harmony in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room as it now appears on a wintry afternoon 1876-77, Oil paint and gold leaf on canvas, leather, and wood Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Gift of Charles Lang Freer, F1904.61 River valley, he was a hard-headed businessman other cultural institutions came to where Freer visit by appointment after collecting a ticket of who earned a fortune building railroad freight and his fellow plutocrats had settled, with their admission at his office downtown. This was the cars in Detroit, becoming rich enough to retire generous encouragement. same year he signed the deed of gift bequeath- in 1900, aged just 47. In 1883, this lifelong bach- In his comprehensive 1999 book about ing his collection to the Smithsonian Institution, elor had begun teaching himself about art, and Freer House, Thomas W. Brunk highlights the thereby creating America’s first national art he grew interested in Whistler three years later. close collaboration between its owner and his museum, which he held in trust until his death. (They met for the first time in 1890.) Guided Arts & Crafts-minded architect from Philadel- In 1913, Freer agreed to underwrite a new by Whistler and various dealers, artists, and phia, Wilson Eyre, Jr. Together they created a structure on the National Mall in Washington, scholars in a successful quest to develop his own Shingle-style residence with Japanese touches D.C., and in 1923 (four years after his death), “eye,” knowledge, and instincts, Freer ultimately of horizontality and open planning. It was soon the Freer Gallery of Art opened in a Renais- assembled outstanding collections of Asian adorned with large, serenely colored paintings sance Revival palazzo designed by Charles A. and American art, and also bought in other commissioned from Freer’s favorite U.S.-based Platt. This was the first museum in the Western areas such as Early Christian manuscripts. With artists, all of them Whistlerian in one way or world to focus on the fine arts of Asia. Whistler’s encouragement, he sought out great another: Dwight W. Tryon, Abbott H. Thayer, The Freer Gallery of Art has fared well artworks abroad, visiting Asia four times before Frederick S. Church (not the Church who under federal ownership, but the Freer House 1911, when failing health forced him to spend painted in the Hudson Valley), and Thomas has had a bumpier ride. In 1921, Freer’s execu- more time in New York City near his doctors. W. Dewing with his gifted artist wife, Maria tors sold it to the Merrill-Palmer School of In 1892, Freer moved into a house he had Oakey. (These artists also decorated the house’s Motherhood & Homemaking, which made built for himself on the edge of Detroit, one interior surfaces to better serve as backdrops various alterations. (For example, the original mile from his company’s headquarters. In con- for their paintings.) Many of their canvases decorative paint finishes have been covered trast to the grandiose Gilded Age mansions were mounted in gilt-filigree frames custom- over.) Today it houses some faculty and staff nearby, this was an understated yet sophis- designed by Freer’s friend Stanford White, members of what is now the Merrill Palmer ticated structure. Today, quite unknown to which glowed among the muted wood furni- Skillman Institute for Child and Family Devel- most American art lovers, the “Freer House” ture and architectural carving all around. opment, a part of Wayne State University. The still stands, located only two blocks from one Freer welcomed guests from around the Institute also uses the larger and main-floor of America’s greatest museums, the Detroit world to stay at his home and view his collec- rooms for meetings and public events. Institute of Arts (DIA), which has recently tion. They included almost every active dealer, Added to the National Register of His- been spared a threatened sell-off of treasures curator, scholar, collector, and enthusiast of toric Places in 1973, the Freer House is revered sparked by the city government’s bankruptcy. Asian and American art, not to mention the among cognoscenti for a special room it once Importantly, the DIA did not move to this contemporary artists Freer supported. From contained. Now the most popular feature of neighborhood until 1927: it and Detroit’s 1906, Freer permitted members of the public to Washington’s Freer Gallery of Art, Harmony FineArtConnoisseur.com | January/February 2015 49 in Blue and Gold: The Peacock Room is among the world’s most famous spaces.
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