Arrangement in Black: Portrait of F. R. Leyland
© Freer Gallery of Art, Washington DC
|
Whistler’s principal patrons included William Alexander
[link – Key figures, Design/Interiors/GLAHA 46050-3], Frederick
Leyland [link – Key figures, Painting/Portraits/YMSM 97,
Design/Interiors/GLAHA 46071], the Ionides family [link –
Key figures], the Campbells and Charles Lang Freer [link –
Key figures], who bought the Peacock Room [link - Design/Interiors/GLAHA
46071, Peacock Room video].
Whistler frequently quarrelled with his patrons, because he believed
that the artist, not the patron, should have total control over
his work. This was at the heart of his 1897 court case with William
Eden. Whistler refused to hand over the portrait he had been commissioned
to paint of Lady Eden, because he was dissatisfied with Eden's
payment. Whistler lost the case, but won his appeal, so he was
allowed to keep the picture, as long as he made it unrecognisable.
In 1899 he published his account of events in Eden versus Whistler:
The Baronet and the Butterfly: A Valentine with a Verdict. |
