The Cheyenne daily leader. [volume] (Cheyenne, Wyo.) 1870-1884, 1883-12-14
VISITING AN "IMPRBssIoN1sr'.
How whistler, the Apostle OF the AT
tenuated,p Works at His Easel.

WV nm ~ III. >
(Croffut's Letter in Pioneer Press.
In London last summer l tried to SEQ some
Of the celebrities, and among these Jimmy
Whistler, as his cronies call him, holds a
place Of some altitude. lie is the father of
that vague modern school Of art whose mem
bers call themselves "impressionists.n They
paint their feelings, so to speak, instead OF
the vision OF the retina- ''Whnb on earth
docs this representa-" l asked one Of these in-
spirrd beings at a last academy exhibition,
facing a great splash Of green with a strip
of brown beyond, and in tho distance
a windmill with delirium tremens
"That,n he answered. with supreme
complacency, Represents how l felt about
that patch of turnips." So Whistler would
answer you. He painted a canvas black,
throw In the middle OF II an immense red
horizontal streak, then spattered over it little
red, green and yellow stars, called 1t The
Fireworks in Vauxhall Gardens, and hung 1t
in Grosvenor gallery. Ruskin denounced it
as the work of n charlatan, and intimated
that no one but n swim Her would put such a
botch on exhibition and offer it for sale. The
triHl was long, angry, acrimonious, ard the
verdict was given to Whistler-one farthing
damages. He claimed it as a victory, be-
cause Ruskin had TO pay the costs.
Long before Wilde had thought of japanese
ucCOEalhOug w ulalloT tuu nlOscleleS ma
equipped their studios with tho art trophies
of that Oriental people. Indeed Whistler's
paintings are felt to have In their balance Of
color, ETC., a trace OF japanese Influence.
After he had made n good deal of money, aud
could demand n good price for his
work. tho artist built for himself a model
house on Chelsea embankmept, and
called it the "White House" It was
built according so his own fantastic taste, but
wa a violation OF all conventional methods
and plans. The whole top OF 1t was a studio
a vast vacant place, and here, when not
working at portraits, he painted those lean
and upright figures of his on the narrow and
upright canvases
Whistler is the laureate of tho cadnverous,
the apostle Of the attenuated-a wonderful
craftsman, a curious mixture OF what lovers
Of art are inclined to chnff, and what they
are sure to reverence. In the white House.
Whistler did some good work He never uses
n palette, and stands most OF the time ten or
fifteen feet from his canvas His paints are
arranged, in n sweet confusion that Is prob
ably order to him, on n table between him
self and his modol-generally a lady
like, quiet, sandy-haired blonde. He
~neryously soizes q long brush, looks at the
model, PUSHES to the table and gets the right
paint, springs forward and gives n sharp dab
at the canvas, and darts back again. Turn
your head a triaei Down chinl Therel
Don't strip and lie makes another dart at the
canvas 1t is a most earnest and e~xacting
businos with him-Gn intense incubation.
He gesticulates. He cries out. He acts as II
he were driving u four-in hand, or trying &c
break the N at Monte Carlo. His easel Is
a sort Of target; he takes a long aim and
pulls the trigger oil at once. 1t Is difficult &c
got him away from his work.