{"product_id":"the-performance-of-art-linda-merrill-9781915401229","title":"The Performance of Art: Whistler, Wilde, and the Ten O Clock Lecture","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA close analysis of the \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eTen O\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003eClock\" lecture in which Whistler\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e declared an end to the public\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cb\u003es participation in art. Also reveals the role played by Oscar Wilde.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn 20 February 1885, James McNeill Whistler delivered his celebrated \u003ci\u003e\"Ten O'Clock\"\u003c\/i\u003e in Piccadilly, opposite the Royal Academy. More than a lecture, it was a witty, provocative monologue attacking conventional taste and asserting art's independence from public opinion. Fashionable London society attended, including Oscar Wilde, whose own speaking tours partly inspired Whistler to take the stage.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe event was hailed as a triumph and repeated in Oxford, Cambridge and other venues. Whistler even considered an American tour, combining the talk with an exhibition to strengthen his reputation as a professional artist - distinguishing himself from Wilde's perceived dilettantism - but instead focused on publishing the text, enlisting Symbolist poet Stéphane Mallarmé for its French translation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Performance of Art\u003c\/i\u003e reassesses this episode, examining why Whistler sought the podium, the cultural context of his polemic and Wilde's role. Through close analysis, it argues that \u003ci\u003e\"Ten O'Clock\"\u003c\/i\u003e stands as a work of art in itself, illuminating Whistler's aesthetic philosophy while anticipating the widening divide between fine art and popular culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Linda Merrill\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1915401224\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781915401229\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Ad Ilissvm\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 07\/28\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 192\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Linda Merrill","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48435231883519,"sku":"9781915401229","price":40.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_babd4260-9d7c-4765-b885-a3f0bc953a1b.jpg?v=1777149059","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-performance-of-art-linda-merrill-9781915401229","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}