“‘“Why, man, they are by Whistler.”
“‘“Whistler,” he said, blankly. “Who’s Whistler?”
“‘“Why, Whistler the artist,—the great painter.”
“‘“Whistler, Whistler. I believe that was his name. But that chap warn’t no painter. He was just a swell who went out with the captain; he thought he could paint some, and gave me those things when we got to Valparaiso. No, I don’t care to let them go,—for, somehow or other, they look more like the sea than real pictures.”’”
Whistler made several attempts to find these sketches, but without success.
As illustrating his facility of execution when time pressed, he painted the “Crepuscule in Flesh Color and Green,” which is a large canvas and one of his best things, at a single sitting, having prepared his colors in advance of the chosen hour.
He could paint with the greatest rapidity when out-of-doors and it was important to catch certain effects of light and color.
In 1894 he exhibited in Paris three small marines which were marvels of clearness, force, and precision; he had painted them in a few hours while in a small boat, which the boatman steadied against the waves as best he could. He placed the canvas against the seat in front of him and worked away direct from nature.
II
A Family of Soldiers—Grandfather founded Chicago—Birth—St. Petersburg—West Point—Coast Survey—His Military Spirit.