New-York tribune., 1908-11-15
K DAILY TRIBUNE, SUNDAY, NOV EABt-h lo' i'oo

where. apart from personal ties. he was =.
tracted by the beauty TO be found in the cit, :.
fogs- Already he had begun 70 cultivate .,
nIannerisms and the picturesque attire nh.
were to make him so conspicuous He ~
about in white duck. carried two umbrellas -
white and the other black. and Val Prinzan -
told Of his wearing pink silk handkercb,,
stuck in his wa;stcoat The same friend a.
scribes him as "A brisk little man. conspicuon-
from his swarthy complexion. his cleaning o,.
glass. and his shock Of curly black hair. ami,
which shOne his celebrated white lock- On tb,,
white lock. by the way. Mr.. and Mrs Penn.n /.
noting that it is not seen in any contempora-.
painting or etching. have this to say.
It was first introduced as far as we "a, A.
cover. in his portrait owned by NJ AIcC,uilout
and in the etching. WHISTLE with rha VJSssn
Lex 1S-g though th-re may b. some white
il. and his family. friends and COutemDOrar5ett
whom We hav' asked cannot explain IT, Soms
say that it was a birthmark. others that he ~
all his hair save the one l1Ck- Many seeing bS
for the first time. misiocE it for d0aung featbe-
fji + " tfl Zgharn h. v5,J -ra @ L1st the
lock of hair which turned white
The character Of his art would by itself bav,
suffced TO give him salience in the London OF IN.
COS when the pre-Raphaelites We're the onv
artists protesting against the conveutioaalitias
Of the Academy. but the white lock and IT,
owners witty, defiant personality We're still fur
ther of service in giving Whistler place apart
Thenceforth the biography u1foIds curigvs
career brilliant at one moment with achieya
ment and success. and shadOvved in the next ~
encouragement and i'll temper IL is impossibb
to resume in this place all the details Of the Ion,
narrative. 1t is sufficient 70 state that Will
WhistIer's etchings did not have 70 wait for an
probation, his painted work made its way bg,
slowly. and the want Of full recognition. privara
public and official gradually drove the iron
into his soul
Life was full Of good things for him. He had
TO begin with and to end with. his work. and
no artist was ever happier in the sheer exercise
of his gifts than was Whistler He had numer-
Gus loyal friends. and a host Of acquaintances
Society made much of him and he was enOr-
mousIy amused by society. Whistler. like Ros
setti." says his biographers. was never without
his public. though many years passed before he
received from it Rossettis reward" He had his
ups and his downs. years Of prosperity and Others
that were parIous lean Surveying his carer
from end to end and recalling the histories Of
other great artists. one feels that there was
after all. nothing so very singular about his ex-
tragic. But he took the errors of his critics and
the neglect Of officialdom with intensity OF
feeIin, in the oldest contrast 20 bis witty. deb
onair traits Nr and Mrs- PerreU share his
indignation against an insersitive world. and
recftfng one episode after another exposing him
as a. dissatisfied and wrathful figure, they in
evitabIy place his character in rather UnfOrt-
unate light For this they are not to blame.
On the contrary. it is the very trUthfUlness q
their portrait that makes the latter provocative
Of a certain compassion
It seems the deepest pity that an artist like
Whistler should have been so concerned about
the attitude of the world toward his art He was
not the first painter to suffer from the short
sightedness OF his COutenpOraries, nor is it al
all likely that he viii have proved the last
Why. one wistfulIy asks, could he not have net
Indifference or ignorant detraction with serene
dignity and silent scorn? No doubt there wer'
occasions for Legitimate wrath, but vheE wC
seek an explanation for all the res5und5-E guar