American-born painter James McNeill Whistler (1834-1903), famous for Whistler’s Mother painting, was influenced by Courbet’s Realism, Velázquez, and later by Japanese woodblock prints, Hokusai, in particular. He worked in Paris, before moving to London in 1859. An accomplished and prolific etcher, he also produced numerous plates.
Early Years of James Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was born on July 11, 1834, in Lowell, Massachusetts. His father, Major George Washington Whistler, was a civil engineer who graduated from West Point, and his mother, Anna McNeill, came from an aristocratic southern family. When he was nine years old, his family moved to Russia where his father was involved in road building.
Destined by his parents for a military career, Whistler attended West Point Military Academy then entered the Cartographic Service in Washington where he learned the etching technique. Realizing that his passion was art, he resigned from his job in order to devote to painting. At the age of 24, he went to France. Already fluent in French, he soon took part in the life of the Parisian artists.
