Cathy's Art Diary

Fascinating online course from the London Art History Society on James Whistler and Walter Sickert and their role in introducing avant-garde art to England. Via 10 lectures over five weeks Jo Rymer led us through aspects of the two artists careers and set them in the context of European art at the time using a small selection of their work to guide us through the main themes. I was a bit disappointed that we didn’t start with a broad overview of each artists’ work but did also appreciate the more academic concentrated look at themes from Whistler’s “Symphony in White” and “Nocturne” series to Sickert’s work in Dieppe and Camden Town. However since I’ve found myself wondering about other themes such as Sickert in Venice and Whistler’s more general portraiture. I guess it’s good to leave us wanting more! One little gripe was that there were a few mentions of aspects of how Degas influenced Sickert which were glossed over as there had been a previous course on the subject. I unders...

Interesting online lecture from ARTscapades looking at the American artists who went to France in the late 19th century and worked with the Impressionists. Timothy J. Standring, author of “From Whistler to Cassatt: American Painters in France” and curator of an exhibition in Richmond and Denver of the same title, talked us through why it was easy for Americans to go and study in France in this period. He outlined the ways of studying and displaying art at the time in Paris and how reviews of the salon shows travelled back to the US creating an educated clientele for the work back at home. Strandring concentrated on James Whistler, Mary Cassatt and John Singer Sargent looking at their careers in Paris and how they took on Impressionist techniques. I would have liked a bit more detail on lives in Paris but the talk became more of a guide to the exhibition at this point which was still interesting but more of a description of paintings than a narrative.

Delightful exhibition at the Royal Academy looking at the relationship between James Whistler and Joanna Hiffernan and the art that emerged from it. The show brought together the three Symphony in White pictures from the National Gallery in Washington, the Tate and the Barber Institute in Birmingham and put them into context. It was lovely so see the Wapping painting also over from Washington, which is the first picture which featured Hiffernan along with the sketches for it and to see her discussed as his partner and a person in her own right not just as a muse. I liked the edition of a room of prints and a focus on Whistler’s illustration work which also featured Hiffernan. Also the room on the influence of Japanese prints and ceramics including one of the fans that can be see in a picture. Another nice touch was to have three of the four pictures Courbet painted of Hiffernan brushing her hair and a discussion of the holiday he joined Whistler and Hiffernan on to the Normandy Co...

Interesting online lecture from the Royal Academy looking at the life of Whistler’s muse Joanna Hiffernan who features in a current exhibition at the gallery. The curator Margaret McDonald from the University of Glasgow was interviewed by Rebecca Lyons from the Royal Academy and they talked about McDonald’s research for the show and looked at some of the pictures in it, particularly the three “Woman in White” paintings which have been reunited for the exhibition. They discussed the relationship between Whistler and Hiffernan and his family and friends’ reactions to it as well as the pictures of her by Courbet in the show. It was a good introduction to the show which I have since so, yet again, I am going to say watch this space!

Sumptuous installation at the Victoria and Albert Museum by Darren Waterston reimagining a room designed by James Abbott McNeill Whistler. OK this one takes a lot of setting up, stick with me. Whistler was commissioned by Frederick Richard Leyland to design a room to display his ceramics collection however he over stepped the brief creating Harmony in Blue and Gold otherwise called the Peacock Room. Leyland refused to pay in full which led to a vitriolic feud and the painting, by Whistler, of “Filthy Lucre (The Creditor)” which shows Leyland as a peacock in a frilled shirt. In this installation Waterston presents “an unsettling re-interpretation” of the room which distorts the space and shows it in a state of decay. You enter the space where you see the ghost of the fine room, shelves have broken, ceramics have smashed, vases have glazes that look like water damage, the ceiling shows signs of buckling and gold decoration has melted across the floor and into stalactites ...

Excellent exhibition at Dulwich Art Gallery looking at works by Whistler of the Thames and exploring he relationship with the river. I loved the etchings at the start of the show looking at the area round Docklands and the Pool of London as I go to work on Thames Clippers so it’s a section of the river I see every day and have grown to love. Whistler had captured it at a moment when it was still busy and thriving but was about to change. I particularly liked “The Lime Burner” with a wonderful multi-framed composition. The middle section looked at the various houses he lived in in Chelsea, his studios there and the work that came out of them. It also explored his nocturnes and his attempts to paint the river at night. The last section looked at how he was influences by Japanese prints particularly those showing important stages in trade routes such as bridges, All in all a really well thought out and displayed exhibition. Note to self however, to try to visit Dulw...