Object details
Object number
10.b.3.18
Creator(s)
Title
The Gentle Art of Making Enemies
Date
1890
Medium
Printed ink on paper
Language
English
Binding Description
quarter-bound in yellow cloth; gilded stamped lettering and butterfly on cover; black stamped lettering on spine
Dimensions
26 x 20.5 cm (10 1/4 x 8 1/16 in.)
Signatures, inscriptions, and markings
Dedicated and signed in ink (frontispiece): Isabella S. Gardner [with butterfly signature]
Enclosed: Two letters from James McNeill Whistler
Provenance
Probably acquired by Isabella Stewart Gardner from James McNeill Whistler by 1906.
Commentary
By the late 1880s, James McNeill Whistler had recovered from his court case with the critic John Ruskin (see Whistler v. Ruskin: Art & Art Critics on the opposite wall) and renewed his creative energies, which included art criticism. The Gentle Art of Making Enemies (1890) assembles his comprehensive perspective upon and hopes for modern art, as well as his acerbic responses to the critical press.
Bibliography
Isabella Stewart Gardner. A Choice of Books from the Library of Isabella Stewart Gardner, Fenway Court (Boston, 1906), p. 70.
Kathleen King, "Float Like a Butterfly, Sting Like a Bee: James McNeill Whistler," Inside the Collection (blog), Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 9 July 2024, https://www.gardnermuseum.org/blog/james-mcneill-whistler-walking-stick
Gallery
Blue Room
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