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Who suggested that James McNeill Whistler call his Thames paintings Nocturnes?
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James McNeill Whistler
Portrait of American-born artist James McNeill Whistler, c. 1868.
The shipping magnate and patron Frederick R. Leyland suggested that James McNeill Whistler use the title Nocturnes for his paintings of the River Thames in 1872.1
Whistler embraced the suggestion because the term, which refers to a musical composition inspired by the night, aligned with his belief that painting should evoke the same emotional effects as music and maintain its own artistic autonomy.1