ABSTRACT
The career of James McNeill Whistler embraces a rich and extraordinary period, and Whistler himself was one of the most extraordinary people in it. Whistler will undoubtedly continue to be a subject of popular biography for years to come. His achievement is not a small one; his gifts as both a painter and a graphic artist were large. Fifty-one paintings are included as well as, besides a lively anthology of pastels, watercolors, and drawings, virtually the entire corpus of Whistler's graphic art—eighty-five etchings and forty-two lithographs. The period is interesting and complex, especially as Whistler sought to embody in his work so many of its diverse elements, and yet the work itself rarely succeeds in transcending its period qualities. Throughout the many vicissitudes of Whistler's development, there is a high quotient of charm. He was a superb decorator, not only as an interior designer but in his painting too.
