When James Abbott McNeil Whistler Sued His Harshest Critic - and Won

Demie Kim

30 ต.ค. 2561

On a brisk November day in 1878, luminaries of the London art world and members of the press gathered in Old Bailey courthouse to witness an unusual trial. The American painter James Abbott McNeill Whistler was suing the eminent art critic John Ruskin for libel, his response to a particularly harsh review. Though the trial only lasted two days, it would become a source of bitter resentment for the rest of both men’s lives. More significantly, the lawsuit spurred a debate about the values of art, as well as the role and creative freedoms of artist and critic in society.