The Gentle Art of Making Enemies

The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies is a book by the painter James McNeill Whistler, published in 1890. The book was in part a response to, in part a transcript of, Whistler's famous libel suit against critic John Ruskin. Ruskin, in a review of the inaugural showing at the Grosvenor Gallery, had referred to Whistler's painting Nocturne in Black and Gold:The Falling Rocket as "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." The book contains Whistler'... more

The Gentle Art Of Making Enemies is a book by the painter James McNeill Whistler, published in 1890. The book was in part a response to, in part a transcript of, Whistler's famous libel suit against critic John Ruskin. Ruskin, in a review of the inaugural showing at the Grosvenor Gallery, had referred to Whistler's painting Nocturne in Black and Gold:The Falling Rocket as "flinging a pot of paint in the public's face." The book contains Whistler's letters to newspapers chronicling his many petty grievances against various acquaintances and friends. less