Whistler painted “The Falling Rocket” in 1870. 1870!! How ahead of his time was this guy?! He got a lot of flack because his contemporaries just couldn’t appreciate what he was doing. At the time, art critic John Ruskin criticized the painting harshly, saying that “The ill-educated conceit of the artist… approached the aspect of willful imposture… I have seen, and heard, much of Cockney impudence before now; but never expected to hear a coxcomb ask two hundred guineas for flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”.

Ah, you have to laugh! And it’s interesting to me because I come from a long line of Londoners, on my mother’s side you can trace our family back many generations all residing in Battersea. And whenever my sister and I misbehaved my grandmother would threaten to leave all her money to Battersea Dog Home.

But quite apart from that, I love Whistler – I love the japanese-ishness (is that a word?) of his work, his concern for the abstract design of each painting, and the way he leaves so much unsaid. He was brave and bold and he did his own thing, even in the face of much scoffing. Just take a look at these paintings – they’re brave even by today’s standards.