James Abbott McNeill Whistler, artist American, 1834 - 1903 The Gold Scab: Eruption in Frilthy Lucre (The Creditor), 1879 oil on canvas

BANKRUPTCY

 

the torrent of sneers and abuse, it came at the moment when

Whistler most needed it.*

 

Whistler's financial affairs were in more hopeless confusion

than ever. The expenses of the White House were heavier

than he anticipated. The interference of the Metropolitan

Board of Works, to whom every drawing and plan had to

be submitted, resulted in delays, disagreements, alterations.

He made what concessions he could ; he even accepted the

stone mouldings insisted upon by the Board. The builder's

estimate was largely exceeded before the decorations

Boehm was to execute had been begun. He had brought

debts from Lindsey Row. The legends of them centre

about a greengrocer who is said to have let him run up

his bill for endless tomatoes and rare fruit out of season,

until it amounted to some six hundred pounds. When the

greengrocer insisted on payment, Whistler said :

 

" How what why why, of course, you have sent these

things most excellent things and they have been eaten, you

know, by most excellent people. Think what a splendid ad-

vertisement. And sometimes, you know, the salads are not

quite up to the mark the fruit, you know, not quite fresh.

And if you go into these unseemly discussions about the bill

well, you know, I shall have to go into discussions about all this

and think how it would hurt your reputation with all these

extraordinary people. I think the best thing is not to refer to

the past I'll let it go. And in the future, we'll have a weekly

account wiser, you know ! "

 

The greengrocer left without his money, but received in

payment two Nocturnes, one the blue upright Valparaiso.

Another story of the same creditor is that he followed Whistler

with his account to the White House, arriving as a grand

piano was being carried in. Whistler said he was so busy

 

* Perhaps it should be added that this first serious article on Whistler was by

no means taken seriously, and that the most was made of Mr. Brownell's mis-

take in describing the dry-point of Joe as a portrait of Dr. Whistler.

1879]

 

 

 

he couldn't attend to the matter just then, and the green-

grocer went away happy, thinking if grand pianos were

being bought, it must be all right.

 

Whistler used to say of stories told about him, that there

was always some foundation for them. The fact is that the

creditors in Lindsey Row had been many, though before

moving to Tite Street, he wrote hopefully to his mother at

Hastings of his economies, and his prospects for paying off

his debts. Whistler did not know the meaning of economy.

And the trial had to be paid for, the studio still waited for

pupils, his most important pictures were with Mr. Graves,

and no new commissions came. But, as far as he let the

world see, his troubles made no difference to him.

 

It was no unusual occurrence for bailiffs to be in possession

at the White House, or for bills to cover its walls. The first

time it happened, he told the people whom he invited that

they 'might know his house by the bills on it. Of the bailiffs

he made another " joy," a new feature of his Sunday break-

fasts. Mrs. Lynedoch Moncrieff has told us of a Sunday

when, to her surprise, two or three men waited at table with

Whistler's servant, John, and she said to Whistler :

 

" Why, Jimmie, I am glad to see you've grown so wealthy."

"Ha ha ! Bailiffs ! You know I had to put them to some

use ! "

 

Mr. W. M. Rossetti and his wife once found the same

" liveried attendants."

 

" ' Your servants seem to be extremely attentive, Mr. Whistler,

and anxious to please you,' one of the guests said. ' Oh, yes,'

was his answer, ' I assure you they wouldn't leave me.' '

 

Others remember the Sunday when all the furniture in

the house was numbered for a coming execution. When

breakfast was announced by a bailiff, Whistler said :

 

" They are wonderful fellows. You will see how excellently

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BANKRUPTCY

 

they wait at table, and to-morrow, you know, if you want, you

can see them sell the chairs you sit on every bit as well. Amazing."

 

Mrs. Edwin Edwards wrote us that, when he had at one time

three men in possession, he treated them, while his friends

carted away his pictures from the back door. Other friends

say that the bailiffs, multiplied to seven, were invited into

the garden, and given beer " with a little something in it.'*

No sooner had they drunk of it than down went their heads

on the table round which they sat, and they slept. People

dining with Whistler that evening were taken into the garden

to see the seven sleepers of Ephesus : " stick pins in them,

shout in their ears see you can't wake them ! " All

evening it rained, and it snowed, and it thundered, and it

lightened, and it hailed. All night they slept. Morning

came and they slept. But just at the hour at which he had

given them their glass the day before, they all woke up and

asked for more.

 

The man who has bailiffs in his house because he cannot

pay his debts must still manage to pay them. One of the

" wonderful fellows " at the end of a week demanded his

money. Whistler answered :

 

" If I could afford to keep you, I would do without you."

"But what is to become of my wife and family, if I don't

 

get my wages ? "

 

" Ha ha ! You must ask those who sent you here to answer

 

that question."

 

" I assure you, Mr. Whistler, I need the money badly."

 

" Why not do as I do then, and have a man in yourself ? "

 

Whistler made a point of being courteous and attentive

to these gentlemen, for, " really, it was kind of them to see

to such tedious affairs." He asked the first bailiff whom

he encountered in his house, one evening when he returned

from the Arts Club :

 

" And how long will you remain ' the man in possession * ? "

1879] 2 53

 

 

 

JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER

 

" That, Mr. Whistler, depends on your paying Mr. 's bill."

 

" Awkward for me, but perhaps more so for you ! I hope

you won't mind it, though, you know, I fear your stay with me

will be a lengthy one. However, you will find it not entirely

unprofitable. For you will see and hear much that may be

useful to you later on ! "

 

When things got more desperate, bills covered the front

of the house, announcing the approaching sale. Whistler,

begging the bailiffs to make themselves at home, went off

one night to dine. It was a stormy night, and, returning

late, he found that the rain had washed loose some of the

bills, which were flapping in the wind. He woke up the

bailiffs, made them get a ladder, brought them into the

street, and insisted that every bill should be pasted down

in place again. He had allowed them, he said, to cover his

house with their posters, but, so long as he lived in it, no

man should leave it in a slovenly condition.

 

The crash came early in May 1879, and Whistler was

declared bankrupt. The amount of his liabilities was four

thousand six hundred and forty-one pounds, nine shillings

and three pence, according to Messrs. Waddell and Co.'s

statement of affairs, dated May 7, 1879. His assets were

estimated at one thousand eight hundred and twenty-four

pounds nine shillings and four pence, which was ultimately

increased by one hundred pounds. Among his debtors were

several friends, whom he urged to press their claims. In

his long overcoat, longer than ever, swinging his light, thin

cane, also lengthening in defiance, his hat set jauntily on the

black curls, he appeared at the office of one of these friends,

in the City, during business hours. " Ha ha ! " he laughed

as he came in. " Well, you know, here I am in the City !

Amazing." And he sat down and gossiped lightly. The

friend, knowing Whistler, knew something else must come of

the visit. And it came, but not before Whistler got up to go.

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BANKRUPTCY

 

" You know, on the way, I dropped in to see George Lewis,

being in the neighbourhood, and, you know, ha ha ! he gave me

a paper for you to sign ! "

 

It was a petition in bankruptcy. The friend did not want

to sign ; he had lent Whistler money, but was in no hurry

to have it back. Whistler insisted, the friend could not

escape, and would have put down as small a sum as possible.

No, said Whistler, it must be for as much as possible, that

he might have the more influence in the proceedings. The

friend put down the exact amount, which was not large, and

Whistler sauntered away, as if he had no heavier care than

the fit of his coat and the weight of the cane he was swinging.

 

The meeting of the creditors was held at the Inns of Court

Hotel, a few weeks later, in June. Sir Thomas Sutherland

was in the chair, Whistler on one side, Sir George Lewis on

the other. To Leyland, with whom he had no " business

contract " for the Peacock Room, he attributed his bank-

ruptcy, and Leyland, therefore, was his scapegoat. Various

Chelsea tradesmen were also there. Except the solicitor,

they all seemed amateurs in matters of bankruptcy. Papers

were passed by the solicitor to the chairman, who endorsed

them. Not a word was said. At last, an impatient butcher,

or baker, springing up, moved that some explanation be

made to the creditors. Leyland seconded him. At that,

Whistler was on his feet, making a speech about plutocrats,

men with millions, and what he thought of them. Every-

body was stupefied ! No one knew what to do. With

difficulty, solicitor and chairman pulled him down into his

seat again. At the end of the meeting, debtor and creditors

appeared to understand as little as at the beginning. But

the law took its course. A committee of examiners was

appointed, composed of Leyland, the largest creditor, Howell,

and Mr. Thomas Way.

 

Leyland was not let off easily by Whistler. As Michael

1879] 255

Done