The masterpiece should appear as the flower to the painter - perfect in its bud as in its bloom - with no reason to explain its presence - no mission to fulfil - a joy to the artist - a delusion to the philanthropist - a puzzle to the botanist -
    From Propositions - No. 2, May 1884

James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was a central figure in the artistic life of mid-nineteenth-century Paris and London. His distinct aesthetic, with its emphasis on appreciating a work of art as an arrangement of colours, lines and shapes, can be seen as the forerunner of the abstract art of the twentieth century.

Whistler on Art brings together a selection of his letters, interviews and other writings, many previously unpublished. In letters to other artists, family, patrons - even Queen Victoria - Whistler discusses his principles of composition, his use the terms 'Nocturne' and 'Symphony' as titles, the rights of dealers and owners, and his celebrated libel suit against John Ruskin. The collection illuminates not only the work of a major artist, but a whole artistic milieu at a point of change.