The Butterfly & the Ashcan: The Impact of Whistler

Most of the artists comprising The Eight – William Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn, and John Sloan – were influenced by the nineteenth-century American artist James McNeill Whistler, as were their close friends Alfred Maurer and George Bellows. Whistler was an extraordinarily prominent artist, so positing him as an inspiration may seem obvious. 

However, these painters – advocates of urban realism and members of what is known as the Ashcan School – are often presented as countering the aesthetic approach epitomized by Whistler. In truth, they were admirers and emulators rather than denigrators. Whistler’s life and work were essential to them, as the lecturer will illustrate using comparative examples of paintings and works on paper.