Welcome to Writing Whistler: A Digital Edition
James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was not only a versatile artist, realising his artistic vision in a variety of media, but an active writer of art criticism, polemics and art theory. He is chiefly remembered in this context for The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, a collection of his works, including previously published pamphlets and extensive correspondence with newspapers and art critics, first published in 1890. A second expanded edition (now regarded as the standard) was published two years later in 1892. He is also remembered for his innovative approach to book design in collaboration with his publisher William Heinemann during the 1890s; this is infused with the reductive qualities of his art.
Writing Whistler: A Digital Edition is the first online critical edition of the Gentle Art and Whistler’s other published writings which roughly span the period 1862-1902. While his correspondence has already been published online, a digital edition of these important texts in the history of European avant-garde art, has been lacking. In addition, while copies of some later editions of the Gentle Art have been digitised by US libraries, they tend to be accessible online only via non-specialised platforms. This edition draws on the University of Glasgow's unrivalled holdings of Whistler’s writings, gathering them in one place and showcasing their richness and breadth. The University’s collection includes related manuscript material - notably to Whistler's artistic manifesto, ‘The Ten O’Clock Lecture’ - along with annotated proof copies of his pamphlets and special presentation editions of the Gentle Art.
Using high-resolution scans of works in the University of Glasgow’s collection, this website presents cumulatively Whistler's texts in digital format. It begins with four of Whistler's major publications: Whistler v Ruskin: Art & Art Critics, published in the aftermath of Whistler’s libel case against the critic John Ruskin in 1878; the Ten O'Clock Lecture, delivered in in London on 20 February 1885 and published in pamphlet form shortly afterwards; The Gentle Art of Making Enemies and Eden vs. Whistler: The Baronet & the Butterfly (1899) which summarises the legal case between Whistler and Sir William Eden over a portrait of Lady Eden, now largely effaced.
