Description:
In view of the importance and scope of the Whistler Collection belonging to the Freer Gallery of Art and the interest shown by art lovers and collectors in the works of one of America’s foremost painters and etchers, this concise but factual outline, illustrated by examples from the Freer Collections, will, it is hoped, fill the long-felt need of gathering and condensing material now to be found in a number of different books.
Many big and cumbersome volumes have been written about Whistler, but the average reader does not have access to them or the time or inclination to peruse them from beginning to end. For that reason, the writer has tried to present most of the pertinent facts about the artist and his life in this short pamphlet.
Many sources were used in this compilation; they include: Life of James McNeill Whistler, by E. R. & J. Pennell, Philadelphia, 1911; Recollections and Impressions of J. A. McNeill Whistler, by A. J. Eddy, New York, 1903; Whistler as I Knew Him, by Mortimer Menpes, New York, 1904; many short sketches from magazines, newspapers, and catalogues printed during his lifetime and after his death; and the two hundred and seventy-odd Whistler letters which the Freer Gallery owns. This latter source of information helps immeasurably to clear up many controversial issues because most of these letters were written by Whistler personally or by his wife at his direction.
—Foreword by B. A. Stubbs
