Whistler Centenary at the Hunterian Art Gallery

The Hunterian Art Gallery currently boasts seven new Whistler-related exhibitions, but if that sounds too much, don’t be put off. Five of them happily (if a little confusingly) cohabit the main gallery, while the prints form a more self-contained exhibition upstairs, and there is a further display of Whistler’s contemporaries (1890s Women) in the Mackintosh House Gallery.

Like a friendly, welcoming face, the artist’s Blue and Silver Screen with Old Battersea Bridge (c.1872) stands proudly at the entrance. Instantly recognisable as a key Whistler image, the panel presents an instant challenge, even today, to those who would prefer to see more ‘finish’ in a painting, just as critic John Ruskin did in 1878.

Whistler’s Mother (Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1, 1871) is hung reverentially, with an entire wall to itself and even the label kept a discreet distance away. One is drawn instinctively straight past the information panels to admire the iconic work, which is unglazed, and hung low, leaving the viewer with a satisfying sense of really seeing the painting close up.

Given that part of the new display is a permanent re-hang, The Hunterian have taken time to choose the right colour for their walls, a dusky lilac-grey which works well with Whistler’s own tones. The lighting is less successful in combination with the glazed full-length portraits, elegantly hung in perfect symmetry around an immaculate, polished table. Harmony in Black: Portrait of Miss Ethel Philip (1894-6) is a bold composition, almost wholly black on black, with the flesh tones of the sitter’s face and ear shining out from the top of the canvas, but unfortunately part obliterated by the glare of lights on glass and varnish.

From paintings to pastels, and from furniture to Whistler’s mother’s cookbook, there is something for everyone here, but the prints steal the show. Whistler was described in his own lifetime as the greatest etcher since Rembrandt, and his strong debt to 17th century Dutch art comes through clearly in two of the exhibitions, Copper into Gold, and Beauty and the Butterfly.

Annie Hayden (1860) is a stunning etching and drypoint of the artist’s niece, a little girl in a big dress who is bored stiff and clearly itching to run away and play. The composition is near to bursting with trapped energy, loose lines streaking through the solid mass of Annie’s cloak, while her closely-worked head and feet hold the shimmering mass together. Bibi Lalouette (1859) is a more classically Rembrandtesque etching of a child at rest, using the same assured mix of fluidity and detail to create a potent combination of weight and energy.

Rembrandt himself is also represented: his etching, ‘The Artist’s Mother’ Seated at a Table (c.1631), is hung next to its mirror image, Whistler’s Portrait Study: Mrs Philip, No.2 (1897). The similarity is undeniable and it is to the Hunterian’s credit that such high level comparisons can be tucked discreetly into the body of the exhibitions without any fuss.

These intelligent comparisons are a common thread running through all the shows. Paintings, pastels and prints are intermixed, and Whistler’s work is complemented by the work of other artists who either influenced him or were influenced by him. Perhaps the most powerful and enlightening comparison is with two Hiroshige woodcuts which are shockingly colourful next to Whistler’s muted tonalities. The Japanese prints belonged to Whistler and are directly echoed in the content and composition of his own work, hung alongside.

The curator of Copper into Gold pays tribute to Whistler’s talent for exhibition design by hanging the Venice prints on colours of the artist’s choice: white and bright yellow. Whistler dressed an attendant in the same colours, who came to be known as the “poached egg”. Fortunately the Hunterian knows where to draw the line.

Catrìona Black, Sunday Herald 29.06.03