9. Whistler’s ‘Nocturne In Black And Gold’ Versus John Ruskin 1877
In 1877 Whistler sued John Ruskin for libel after the critic condemned his painting Nocturne in Black and Gold: The Falling Rocket. Whistler exhibited the work in the Grosvenor Gallery, an alternative to the Royal Academy exhibition, alongside works by Edward Burne-Jones and other artists. Ruskin, who had been a champion of the Pre-Raphaelites and J. M. W. Turner, reviewed Whistler’s work in his publication Fors Clavigera on July 2, 1877. Ruskin praised Burne-Jones, while he attacked Whistler: “…I have seen, and heard, much of Cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face.” Whistler, seeing the attack in the newspaper, replied to his friend George Boughton, “It is the most debased style of criticism I have had thrown at me yet.” The artist then went to his solicitor and drew up a writ for libel which was served to Ruskin. Whistler hoped to recover £1,000 plus the costs of the action. The case came to trial the following year after delays caused by Ruskin’s bouts of mental illness, while Whistler’s financial condition continued to deteriorate. The jury reached a verdict in favour of Whistler, but awarded a mere farthing in nominal damages, and the court costs were split. The cost of the case, together with huge debts from building his residence bankrupted him by May 1879, resulting in an auction of his work, collections, and house.