James McNeill Whistler (Lowell, Massachusetts, 1834 - 1903, London, England)
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, 1890
Printed ink on paper , 26 x 20.5 cm (10 1/4 x 8 1/16 in.)
General admission for children 17 years and under is always free
Blue Room
Commentary
By the late 1880s, James McNeill Whistler had recovered from his court case with the critic John Ruskin (see Whistler v. Ruskin: Art & Art Critics on the opposite wall) and renewed his creative energies, which included art criticism. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (1890) assembles his comprehensive perspective upon and hopes for modern art, as well as his acerbic responses to the critical press.