Whistler’s War Against Respectability
October 1961 | Volume 12, Issue 6
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WHISTLER: I believe that is the experience of all artists. ( Laughter .)
HOLKER: What is the subject of the Nocturne in Black and Gold ?
WHISTLER: It is a night piece, and represents the fireworks at Cremorne.
HOLKER: Not a view of Cremorne?
WHISTLER: If it were called a view of Cremorne, it would certainly bring about nothing but disappointment on the part of the beholders. ( Laughter .) It is an artistic arrangement.
Approaching for the kill, Holker next established that two hundred guineas was the picture’s price .
HOLKER: Did it take you much time to paint the Nocturne in Black and Gold ? How soon did you knock it off? ( Laughter .)
WHISTLER: I beg your pardon?
HOLKER: I was using an expression which was rather more applicable to my own profession. ( Laughter .) How long do you take to knock off one of your pictures?
WHISTLER: Oh, I knock off one possibly in a couple of days, ( laughter )—one day to do the work, and another to finish it.
HOLKER: And that was the labor for which you asked two hundred guineas?
WHISTLER: No, it was for the knowledge gained through a lifetime. ( Applause and threats to clear the court .)
Presently Old Battersea Bridge: Nocturne in Blue and Gold (opposite page) was produced in court. The judge broke in .
HIS LORDSHIP: Are those figures on the top of the bridge intended for people?
WHISTLER: They are just what you like.
HIS LORDSHIP: That is a barge beneath?
WHISTLER: Yes, I am very much flattered at your seeing that. The thing is intended simply as a representation of moonlight. My whole scheme was only to bring about a certain harmony of color.
When Holker resumed, he pointed to The Falling Rocket, and put the great, unanswerable question .
HOLKER: … What is the peculiar beauty of that picture?
WHISTLER: It is as impossible for me to explain … as it would be for a musician to explain to you the beauty of harmony in a particular piece of music if you had no ear for music.
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