From 1851 to 1854, James...
Illustration
From 1851 to 1854, James Abbott McNeill Whistler attended West Point. He was not destined to become any kind of soldier, but to influence the art of the nineteenth century in a major way. He did have some influence at the Military Academy, however. A story from his Academy days lives on. In a mechanical drawing class, Whistler was given the assignment of drawing a bridge. He drew two children fishing from an attractive, artistic bridge of stone between grassy banks. The instructor was incensed. He demanded, "Get those children off that bridge! This is an engineering exercise." So Whistler submitted a second version with the children fishing from the bank. This time the instructor raged, "I said, 'Remove those children!' I want them entirely out of the picture." Whistler's third picture showed two small tombstones in the grass beside the stream.
-- Mosley
-- Mosley
