November 29, 1878—this day 146 years ago—was, for James Whistler and John Ruskin both, a day of taking stock. For this was the day after the verdict in the great case of Whistler v. Ruskin. Whistler had in the courtroom the day before exuberantly proclaimed victory, shouting across the courtroom to a friend and reporter …
Just dropped: my conversation with Kate Winkler Dawson on her Wicked Words podcast, about my book Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrook Lane, and the murder of Jane Clouson. It’s available at Apple Podcasts, and you can get it by clicking below–
On this day 145 years ago—September 19, 1879—James Whistler lost the house of his dreams. Designed by Whistler himself and his good friend architect Edward Godwin, the White House—the one in Chelsea, England, and not Washington D. C.—was meant to stand out from all of the other buildings on Tite Street, with its white façade …
In yesterday’s New York Times, Francesca Paris and Larry Buchanan challenged their readers to take on the difficult but deeply rewarding task of simply looking at James Whistler’s Nocturne in Blue and Silver, pictured above, for ten uninterrupted minutes. “Focus is a skill,” they note; “we’ll help you practice.” They base their experiment upon an assignment that Jennifer Roberts, …
On this day—June 23—in 1867, John Ruskin walked into the Grosvenor, a London art gallery—and set in motion the trial at the heart of Falling Rocket. The Grosvenor had opened three months before with the purpose of bringing to the public all that was new and beautiful—and according to its owner, Sir Coutts Lindsay, all …
Since the release of Falling Rocket last semester, a couple readers have come to me with a….well, with a plaint, if not quite a complaint. I obviously write about many paintings by James Whistler in the book—but I only provide illustrations of a few of them. They wanted more. And I would have loved to …
In writing Falling Rocket, I had the great good fortune of spending time, and, in a sense, working with, two of the great characters of the nineteenth century: characters in the fullest sense of the term. As actors in a drama—the drama of both their courtroom conflict in 1878, and in the lifelong battle between …
I enjoyed speaking with Craig Gould the other day on the Art Sense podcast: about all things Whistler, Ruskin, and Falling Rocket. Kudos to Craig for setting this up—within one day of the release of the book. Art Sense #127: Paul Thomas Murphy