Joanna Hiffernan: Artist, Model and Whistler’s Muse
Joanna Hiffernan and James Abbott McNeill Whistler met in London in 1861. He instantly fell in love with her striking red hair and outspoken...
Louisa Mahoney 4 April 2024
#James Abbott McNeill Whistler
QUIZ: What Is Missing from These Paintings? Part 2
Szymon Jocek 26 February 2024
Owls, Peacocks and Sparrows: Birds in Art
The idea of birds in art probably brings to mind John James Audubon, the 19th-century ornithologist who wrote and illustrated the landmark series The...
Alexandra Kiely 5 January 2024
Victorian Art Trial – Falling Rocket by Paul Thomas Murphy
In 1878, artist James Whistler sued critic John Ruskin over a bad review. The trial and its consequences, set against the background of the Victorian...
Catriona Miller 14 December 2023
Masterpiece Story: Whistler’s Mother by James McNeill Whistler
Whistler’s 1871 painting Arrangement in Grey and Black No 1 might not sound familiar. As Whistler’s Mother, on the other hand, it has entered...
Catriona Miller 10 December 2023
Japonisme: Western Fever for Japanese Art and Culture
During the mid-19th and 20th centuries, Western art saw the birth of Japonisme. The term was coined by Philippe Burty in 1872 and refers to the craze...
Jimena Escoto 18 November 2023
Whistler vs. Ruskin: How to Fling a Pot of Paint and Win a Trial
After paying a visit to the newly inaugurated Grosvenor Gallery in London, John Ruskin wrote a stinging review of the modernist exhibition. The...
Ruxi Rusu 28 October 2023
Her Life and Her Museum: Isabella Stewart Gardner
The story of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and its founder before the robbery in 1990.
Jennifer S. Musawwir 29 July 2023
Down by the River: Rivers in Famous Paintings
From the dawn of civilization, rivers have been the crux of human life. Most great cities are built around rivers. We use them for sustenance,...
Anastasia Manioudaki 22 March 2023
The Night Sky: 10 Nocturnal Paintings You Will Love
Few things in life are more moving than the night sky on a cloudless evening. Artists have been fascinated by it for so long! The night has inspired...
Ruxi Rusu 29 November 2022
Music and Art: Tanto Bravura!
Music and art have long been closely tied together, each taking inspiration from the other (for better or for worse). Some remarkable music has been...
Sarah Mills 30 April 2022
Ring Out the Old, Ring In the New—New Year Traditions Around the World
New Year’s is the last holiday of the old year, the first holiday of the new year and, as such, humans have been marking it for longer than we...
Ledys Chemin 1 January 2022
