The Washington times., 1903-07-18

suddenly at his home, Cheyne Walk.
Chelsea. He was sixty-nine years OF
age.
Postmaster of the gentle art Of making
enemies, as he called himsen, Whistler
was by all odds one of the most enter
tanning men of his time TO the great
reading public. whom he delighted aud
exasperated by turns with his acrid hu-
NOR and studied insolence.
So diverting was his pen that many
people forgot his great mastery of his
art in their keen appreciation Of his cut
ting sarcasm.
Suit Against Ruskin.
When he won in his libel suit against
Ruskin the farthing which he promptly
hung upon his watch chain. and the
British public subscribed the s.. 900 costs
which fell upon Ruskin, one OF the sub
scribers exclaimed that ten times the
amount would not have been too much
for the public TO pay for the entertain
ment the suit afforded them. and he ex-
pressed the feelings of many people in
those words.
Whistler was an American, but at one
time his aversion for Americans was so
strong that. for instance. at the Cen
tenniaI Exposition. he did not want his
pictures hung with those of American
artists. but demanded that they be hung
in the British section. At another time
he turned against the English 1t was
when he failed Of reelection 10 the
Royal Society of British Artists. He
and his friends resigned.
Fling at British Art.
Whistler then suggested that the name
of the organization be changed to THE
Royal Society OF British"
THE artists have retired" he said.
Whistler was born in Lowell, Mass. in
1884. His mother was Miss Winans. of
Baltimore, and his father an engineer
and graduate of West Point. He was
educated at West Point.
After the studies at West Point II
seems 20 have been an easy matter.
owing TO the friendly relations existing
between Whistler, ST., and Captain Ben
ham, TO procure young Whistler a posi-
tion as an engraver in the Coast Survey.
While the ability of young Whistler
seems to have been abundant, his inter
est In his work was far from satisfac-
tory no him it did not seem that the
work was worth doing. Possessed of an
artistic temperament. the engraving of
maps was wholly unsuitable to his
tastes.
Landscapes Bored Him.
For landscapes Whistler seemed to
have no particular fondness. but there
was always something new and interest
ing in sketching people, and in this way
his map work presented unique features
and the margins OF his maps usually
contained sketches OF some OF the queer
people he had cOnjured out Of his imagi-
nation. but OF course these were always
cut away before the plate was used for
printing. otherwise the Survey would
have in its possession a choice selection
OF Whistler's of an early period.
His period Of service in the Survey
was Of brief duration. and at the ex-
piration Of six months he had closed his
departmental life and never returned to
Washington I'm a clerical capacity.
In Paris Art Schools.
It is not surprising to find the young
studios OF Paris. About 1855 he went 10
Europe and studied art for some years
in the French capital in the celebrated
studio Of Claire. where his fellow pupils
were the present president OF the Royal
Academy. Sir E. Poynter. and the late
Du Maurier. who described I'm "Trilby
the life of the foreign students In the
Latin Quarter. He adopted the art
principles and methods OF Courbet and
the "impressionistes." but soon struck
out on an independent line Of his own.
his first original work OF note being the
portrait Of la Mere Gerard, a 'reine
des Halles." which is IN the possession
of his friend the poet, Swinburne Whis-
tier sent picture after picture TO the
Royal Academy. in London. and TO the
Paris Salon. only TO be rejected.
II was an accident that saved from