James Abbott McNeill Whistler was as famous for his combative personality as his artmaking. His father was George Washington Whistler, who rose to success as the chief engineer for the Boston & Albany Railroad. That success took the family to Russia for Czar Nicholas I in 1842. Whistler’s parents discovered that drawing helped to settle their son’s temper and so encouraged his talents. After his father’s death the family returned to the U.S. and he was briefly enrolled at Christ Church Hall School to study ministry. Whistler did not take to the cloth, and so enrolled at West Point, where his father had taught drawing. Colonel Robert E. Lee was the West Point Superintendent at the time. Whistler was insubordinate and racked up numerous demerits, leading to his expulsion in 1854.
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Whistler worked briefly mapping the coast for the U.S. military, but was frequently late or absent and took to doodling in the margins. Typically broke or living off of the wealth of his friend, Tom Winans, he left for Paris, never to return to the U.S. He enjoyed success as an artist and befriended Henri Fantin-Latour and Gustave Courbet. A skillful printmaker, Whistler was acknowledged as the greatest exponent of etching since Rembrandt. He moved to London in 1859, where he became interested in Japanese art and the new French movement towards Impressionism. He was rejected from the Paris Salon of 1863 but was included in the seminal Salon des Refusés, exhibiting with artists such as Manet and Pissarro.
Whistler’s relationships were marked by drama and conflict. His rival Oscar Wilde is thought to have based the art critic in The Picture of Dorian Gray after Whistler. Whistler’s ill-fated lawsuit against critic John Ruskin in 1877 and the expense of building his home led to his bankruptcy in 1879. He followed the trial with the publication of a book, The Gentle Art of Making Enemies, which described the trial and shared letters listing his many grievances.
Whistler had a profound effect on the rise of Impressionism in America and the Tonalists owe a huge debt to Whistler’s subtle colors and tones—the hallmarks of their movement.
A Study in Rose and Brown appeared in the 1905 memorial exhibit to the artist and in the 1913 Armory Show. When it was purchased by the MMA at the close of the Armory Show, the painting was at the forefront of avant-garde modernism.