James Abbott McNeill Whistler  1885

On his way to Spain in 1885 by way of London, Chase decided to introduce himself to James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), whose works he had long admired. Whistler urged him to stay longer so they could paint portraits of one another. In depicting Whistler, Chase echoed traits that appear in his subject’s recent portraits, such as that of Théodore Duret (13.20): an elongated...