The Rap on Whistler

Plagens, Peter, Newsweek

AN ADMIRER ONCE, APPROACHED THE American expatriate painter James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) and told him, "There are only two great painters, you and Velazquez." "Madam," Whistler replied, "why drag in Velazquez?" Indeed. Or why drag in his contemporaries Gauguin, van Gogh and Cezanne, not to mention his fellow countryman Thomas Eakins? All of them were Whistler's betters, as is made clear by the Whistler exhibition at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, on view through Aug. 20. With more than 200 works, it is his biggest retrospective since the memorial shows of 1904-05. Concurrent exhibitions at the Freer Gallery ("Whistler & Japan") and the National Portrait Gallery …

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Publication information: Article title: The Rap on Whistler. Contributors: Plagens, Peter - Author. Magazine title: Newsweek. Volume: 125. Issue: 24 Publication date: June 12, 1995. Page number: 62. © 2009 Newsweek, Inc. All rights reserved. Any reuse, distribution or alteration without express written permission of Newsweek is prohibited. For permission: www.newsweek.com. COPYRIGHT 1995 Gale Group.

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