James McNeill Whistler (Lowell, Massachusetts, 1834 - 1903, London, England)
Whistler v. Ruskin: Art & Art Critics, 1878
Printed ink on paper , 19.5 x 14.7 cm (7 11/16 x 5 13/16 in.)
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Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner collected James McNeill Whistler’s published writing as well as his artwork. In this book, the artist responds to a public dispute with the art critic John Ruskin. Whistler sued Ruskin for libel in 1877 after the critic published a review that accused him of “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” The case was decided in Whistler’s favor, but the court awarded him only a farthing in damages. Frustrated, the painter published his own version of the trial—Whistler vs. Ruskin: Art & Art Critics.