Whistler: A Life for Art's Sake

New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2018. xx, 440 pages, [49] pages of plates, illustrations (some colour); 23 cm. Tight, clean copy. "A major new biography of James McNeill Whistler, one of most complex, intriguing, and important of Americas artists. This engaging personal history dispels the popular notion of James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) as merely a combative, eccentric, and unrelenting publicity seeker. The Whistler revealed in these beautifully illustrated pages is an intense, introspective, and complex man, plagued by self-doubt and haunted by an endless pursuit of perfection in his painting and drawing." - Publisher. CONTENTS: Jamie, My Boy: 1834-1849; Anything for a Quiet Life: 1849-1854; Bohemian Rhapsody: 1854-1858; Portraits and Self-Portraits: 1858-1861; Rebellion and Notoriety: 1861-1863; Homage to Whistler: 1864-1866; Trouble in Paradise: 1866-1869; Butterfly: 1870-1873; Peacocks and Nocturnes: 1874-1877; Trials: 1877-1879; Death and Transfiguration: 1879-1880; The Butterfly Rampant: 1881-1883; Art is upon the Town: 1884-1885; Explanations and Expectations: 1886-1888; Games and Honors, Various: 1888-1890; Scotland is Brave, but Vive La France!: 1891-1892; A New Life, New Markets, New Friends: 1893-1894; Litigation and the Lamp: 1894-1895; I Journey by Myself: 1896-1897; President and Master, Redux: 1898-1900; Off the Treadmill: 1901-1902; The Evening Mist: 1903-1908. . Paperback. Fine. 8vo.