As Whistler is part of my Art History course next year, I thought it may be beneficial to visit this exhibition, especially as it's so close and I can see my family while I'm there! There were two rooms dedicated to Whistler which felt a little out of place in the wider context of the gallery. Lady Lever's primary focus is Victorian/Pre-Raphaelite imagery, rich in colour and decoration, yet the Whistler rooms felt bare and lacking in character, if it weren't for the etchings themselves. I'm also growing increasingly weary of this trend for wall decals of quotations that relate to the exhibition. While the sentiments and the manner in which they are expressed can be lovely and relevant, to me, it feel as though they detract from the art in some way, they almost become an apology or an explanation for what it is you're attempting to experience. In this case, particularly, it assumes that the visitor will have knowledge of who George Bernard Shaw is. I certainly didn't. To most visitors, this name will mean absolutely nothing, thus whilst the sentiment itself is a tribute to Whistler's enduring popularity, many people that read it will have zero awareness as to the importance of the person that they're having shoved in their faces.
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James Abbot McNeill Whistler - The Doorway detail (1879-80) |

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