Falling rocket James Whistler, John Ruskin, and the battle for modern art

Victoriana scholar Murphy (Shooting Victoria; Pretty Jane and the Viper of Kidbrooke Lane) hits another bull's-eye with this remarkable new title. The author relates a surprisingly overlooked true story about the generational conflict between the rigidly conservative London art world, personified by preeminent Oxford professor and art critic John Ruskin, and the impending ideas of modernism, as practiced by rambunctious American expatriate painter James McNeill Whistler. Centered around a self-serving 1878 defamation lawsuit filed by Whistler after Ruskin's scathing and brutally condescending review of a group of Whistler's atmospheric paintings (including Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket), the story follows both men before, during, and after the public trial. Ruskin and Whistler both wrestle with their contrasting ideas of the role art should play in the world at large and their personal lives in miniature. Dense with detail at the beginning, the book quickly develops a coordinated rhythm that allows Murphy to capably illustrate a cultural inflection point and clearly describe the foundations of modern painting. VERDICT Absorbing and informative, this title is cultural history at its best.--James Woods Marshall

Historical account of the battle between two Victorian heavyweights. Murphy chronicles the intellectual fight between American painter James Whistler and British art critic John Ruskin. "Always the dandy," Whistler left Paris for London in 1860, immersing himself in England's rich art community. Paintings such as Harmonies and Symphonies aspired to pure aestheticism; Nocturne in Blue and Gold: The Falling Rocket, Murphy writes, "pursued darkness to a revolutionary point he had not reached before." Ruskin visited the gallery where it was exhibited, and in his published critique called Whistler "a coxcomb [who asked] two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." Attacking modern art in general and Nocturne in particular, "Ruskin was accusing [Whistler] not of creating bad art, but of creating no art." Because of his position as a feared arbiter of English taste, this attack could destroy Whistler's reputation, so the painter sued Ruskin for libel and "damages of a thousand pounds and costs"--and he needed the money. Characterizing his statements as "fair and bona fide criticism," Ruskin welcomed the chance to take on Whistler and educate the public. In November 1878, the trial began without Ruskin, who was in the throes of a severe mental health crisis, and the immensely amusing proceedings were brief. Twelve male jurors viewed some of Whistler's works, heard testimonies, and made a decision: Whistler won, receiving one farthing but no costs. Both men were disappointed: Ruskin's words had been found libelous, and the derisory damages meant that Whistler was "legally victorious but facing inevitable financial ruin." Instead, as Murphy nicely chronicles in chapters detailing the trial's aftermath (and mainly about Whistler), this "artistic Barnum" was already busy with new projects and commissions, while Ruskin's health continued to decline. He died in 1900, three years before Whistler. A lively, entertaining tale of art and criticism. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.