Calosse - Whistler

James Abbott Whistler was born on July 10, 1834, in Lowell, a little town in Massachusetts. James's father was a graduate of West Point Military Academy. He took Anna Mathilda McNeill as his second wife. Whistler was a railroad engineer in Lowell, and this is where James and his two brothers were born. In 1842, Nicholas I, Tsar of Russia, chose John Whistler to build him a railroad from St. Petersburg to Moscow and Major Whistler left for Russia. A year after her husband's departure, Mrs. Whistler and her children took the same route for St. Petersburg. During the trip, the youngest son fell gravely ill and died. James was nine years old at the time. Despite his strict upbringing, the child encountered many of the influences which were to shape his future career as an artist. The Scottish artist, Sir William Allen, was a frequent visitor of the Whistlers and James greatly enjoyed the conversations which he heard in the drawing-room. Once the children were in bed, the painter took Mrs. Whistler apart and confided to her, "Your son has an exceptional talent." From these first attempts there remains a portrait of his aunt, Alicia McNeill. James spent his time drawing and leafing through the large volume of engravings by Hogarth, whom he would always consider to be England's greatest artist.

A cholera epidemic had broken out in St. Petersburg. Mrs. Whistler had to leave hurriedly for England with her children. On November 9, 1849, Major Whistler died without ever seeing his family again and the repercussions of his demise on the family finances forced them to go back to Connecticut. James was now a teenager and despite his mother's strictness, his personality began to show through and his opinions started to take shape. The Whistlers and the McNeills both had a tradition of military men in the family. James's mother enrolled him at the greatest military academy in the United States, West Point, which he entered in 1851.

Even in his first year, his examination results were revealing: he was first in drawing, but thirty-ninth out of forty-three in philosophy and at the bottom in chemistry. He took little notice of the academy's discipline and the disapproval of his lateness and his careless dress. Guided, like his fellows, by a sense of honor, James could not prevent himself from revolting internally against its traditions, despite his respect for certain ideas of chivalry. The young man was not cut out for a military career, being incapable of submitting himself to the strict discipline. He was informed of his dismissal in June 1854.

. At the Piano. 1858-1859.

26 x 36 in. (67 x 91 cm).

Taft Museum, Cincinnati, Ohio.

. Harmony in Green and Rose:
The Music Room . 1860-1861.

37 5/8 x 27 7/8 in. (95.5 x 70.8 cm).

Freer Gallery of Art, Smithsonian

Institution, Washington.

After leaving the academy, Whistler was apprenticed at a locomotive factory in Baltimore and spent his days wandering around the workshops and offices. Soon, the boredom became intolerable and Whistler left Baltimore. Here again, he found he disliked office routine and did his work without enthusiasm. Whistler led a very active social life. He was often to be seen at receptions, dressed in the latest fashion. The young James Whistler was passionate about drawing and painting and despised anything not directly related to it. Whistler was regarded as something of a practical joker. James became very bored in the Geodetic Coastal Survey and resigned in February 1855. Yet, as in the case of West Point, the few months he had spent at the office were of great importance for his career. In fact, he had learned how to make etchings, a technique in which he would come to excel.