Whistler's Mother: An American Icon
Category: Books,Arts & Photography,Architecture
Whistler's Mother: An American Icon Details
This illustrated volume looks at the life of Anna Matilda Whistler, the genesis and history of the portrait, and examines the relationship between mother and son that inspired the painting. It explores the growth of Whistler's 'Mother' as a potent image, its appearance inspiring mass pilgrimages and adulation, and looks more broadly at the portrait of the artist's mother as a productive source of artistic inspiration following Whistler.
Reviews
More than anything I appreciated the photographs in this book. Showing paintings by other artists of the period augmented my understanding of what influenced Whistler. Little snippets like fashions of the day were also interesting. The book's discussion of the sale of the painting and public reaction in America when the painted toured museums helped explain why the painting became iconic. The final chapter provided many a look at cartoonish contemporary works that appropriated this iconic image, and left me smiling. The writing is academic, and not a casual read, but researchers would appreciate the book.