James Abbott McNeill Whistler: the man with four names and many quirks.

Born on July 10th, 1834, in Lowell, Massachusetts, James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American born, British-based artist who was known for painting "art for art's sake". His infamous signature found on most of his paintings was an abstract butterfly with a long tail attached to it that he developed in the 1860s out of his interest in Asian art. The butterfly was supposed to symbolize his subtle, intricate and delicate style of painting versus his intensely combative and provocative persona when in public. Whistler's initials 'J.W.' were incorporated into the butterfly in 1869 and gradually evolved over the next thirty years, acquiring antennae, veins and a tail. Sometimes, he would sign himself with a stinging tail, like a scorpion's. Many of James' paintings were titled "arrangements", "harmonies" or "nocturnes", not because he was too lazy to think up new titles, but to emphasize the importance of tonal harmony. In 1855 he moved to Paris where he really started to blossom as a bohemian artist. He studied traditional methods at the atelier of Charles Gabriel Gleyre where he picked up two new principles he would carry with him throughout the rest of his career: first, that line is more important than color and second, that black is the fundamental color of tonal harmony. With his move to France he also quickly became well known for his distinctive appearance and his quick wit, especially with friend and rival Oscar Wilde. He was eccentric and arrogant, a self-promoter and egoist, and had a high pitched voice and a speech full of pauses. A friend of his once said,  "In a second you discover that he is not conversing—he is sketching in words, giving impressions in sound and sense to be interpreted by the hearer." In 1861, Mr. Whistler tried out a simple study in white which ended up producing an incredibly controversial portrait of his mistress, Joanna Hiffernan. He called the painting Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl. Critics were not impressed and saw it as "an allegory of a new bride's lost innocence." Because she is holding a lily in one hand and standing on a bear skin rug in the painting, viewers took that to be lustful, masculine and inappropriate. By 1863 the painting had stirred up so much controversy that it was accepted into the Salon des Refuses to hang amongst other "reject" artworks, including Manet's infamous "Luncheon on the Grass".

        Above: Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl; Below: One of Whistler's signature butterflies.