James McNeill Whistler (1834 - 1903)

  
Self-Portrait (circa 1896), Blue and Silver: Screen, with Old Battersea Bridge (1871-1872), and Annie Haden (1860). Images © Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow.

The artist, designer and writer James McNeill Whistler was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in July 1834, and died in London, England, in July 1903. The Hub includes a description of Whistler's papers, and papers of family members, fellow artists, and critics. We have also included links to other online celebrations of Whistler's centenary, and some suggested reading.

Collections

• James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903)
• Joseph Whistler Revillon (1886-1955): great-nephew of James McNeill Whistler, compiled a catalogue of Whistler's oil paintings
• Nina Shtetinin (born 1913): related by marriage to the Whistler family, her papers include the Whistler family tree
• Sir Francis Seymour Haden (1818-1910): surgeon and etcher, related to the Whistler family by marriage
• Fairfax Murray (1849-1919): Pre-Raphaelite painter and art collector, his papers include material relating to Charles Augustus Howell (died 1890), a close companion of Whistler
• William Bell Scott (1811-1890): painter and poet, whose correspondence discusses leading figures in Victorian literary and artistic circles
• James Laver (1899-1975): critic who wrote widely on art and costume; his papers include notes and correspondence on Whistler
• John Ruskin (1819-1900): the influential art critic, whose notorious attack on Whistler's Nocturne in black and gold: the falling rocket (circa 1874), led Whistler to sue for libel

 
Signed photograph (1879), and Fashion plate (1894). Images courtesy of Glasgow University Library Special Collections Department.

Suggested reading

Links are provided to records on Copac for these items. Copac is the free, web based national union catalogue, containing the holdings of many of the major university and National Libraries in UK and Ireland plus a number of special libraries. For more information about accessing items see the FAQs on the Copac website.

• The Hunterian collection of pictures and the works of art and personal memorials of James McNeill Whistler: catalogue arranged by Dorothy Dalton (1984) Records on Copac
• James McNeill Whistler: Drawings, Pastels and Watercolours. A Catalogue Raisonné Margaret F. MacDonald (1995) Records on Copac
• The Life of James MacNeill Whistler Elizabeth and Joseph Pennell (6th edition, 1925) Records on Copac
• Whistler Frances Spalding (1994) Records on Copac
• The Lithographs of James McNeill Whistler. A Catalogue Raisonné Nesta Spink et al (1998) Records on Copac
• Whistler on Art. Selected Letters and Writing, 1849-1903, of James McNeill Whistler edited by Nigel Thorp (1994) Records on Copac
• The Paintings of James McNeill Whistler Andrew McLaren Young et al (1980) Records on Copac

Links

• Whistler Archive University of Glasgow Special Collections
• Centre for Whistler Studies at the University of Glasgow: includes searchable, annotated full-text of the first 25 years of Whistler's correspondence (some 1750 letters)
• Hunterian Art Gallery, University of Glasgow: includes an online catalogue of 80 oil paintings, several hundred drawings, watercolours and pastels, and over 1,500 impressions of Whistler's etchings and lithographs
• Whistler in the 1840s: books and documents from Whistler's childhood (University of Glasgow Special Collections)
• Whistler at The Burrell: exhibition at the Burrell, Glasgow, until January 2004
• Whistler House Museum of Art, Lowell, Massachusetts: the artist's birthplace is now a museum
• Freer Art Gallery, Washington D.C.: world's largest collection of works by Whistler

Special thanks to: John Faithfull (Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow), Julie Gardham (Glasgow University Library Special Collections Department), David Powell (Glasgow University Archive Services), and Pamela Robertson (Hunterian Museum, University of Glasgow).

You can receive regular updates on our special features by joining our mailing list.