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[Illustration: JAMES M'NEILL WHISTLER
From a sketch from life by Rajon. Courtesy of Frederick Keppel.]
"WRITINGS BY AND ABOUT
JAMES ABBOTT McNEILL WHISTLER"
HARPER & BROTHERS PUBLISHERS
NEW YORK AND LONDON
MCMXIII
Following the example set by Homer when he "smote his bloomin' lyre,"as cited by Mr. Kipling, who went "an' took what he'd admire," I havegleaned the vast volume of Whistler literature and helped myself inmaking this compilation. Some few of the anecdotes are first-hand.Others were garnered by Mr. Ford in the original version of TheGentle Art of Making Enemies. The rest have been published manytimes, perhaps. But it seemed desirable to put the tales togetherwithout the distraction of other matter. So here they are.
D.C.S.
Cos Cob, CONN., July, 1913.
The studios of Chelsea are full of Whistler anecdotes. One tells of afemale model to whom he owed some fifteen shillings for sittings. Shewas a Philistine of the Philistines who knew nothing of her patron'sfame and was in no way impressed with his work. One day she toldanother artist that she had been sitting to a little Frenchman calledWhistler, who jumped about his studio and was always complaining thatpeople were swindling him, and that he was making very little money.The artist suggested that if she could get any piece of painting outof Whistler's studio he would give her ten pounds for it. Althoughskeptical, the model decided to tell her "little Frenchman" of thistoo generous offer, and selected one of the biggest and finest worksin the studio. "What did he say?" asked the artist who had made theoffer, when the model appeared in a state of great excitement andlooking almost as if she had come second best out of a scrimmage. "Hesaid, 'Ten pounds—Good heavens!—ten pounds!' and he got somad—well, that's how I came in here like this."
* * * * *
Mr. W.P. Frith, R.A., following the custom of artists, talked to amodel one day to keep her expression animated. He asked the girl towhom she had been sitting of late, and received the answer:
"Mr. Whistler."
"And did he talk to you?"
"Yes, sir."
...