James McNeill Whistler

An American who worked mainly in London and Paris, Whistler championed “art for art's sake” and often gave his pictures musical titles such as “Arrangement” and “Nocturne”.

In 1877 the critic John Ruskin accused him of “flinging a pot of paint in the public's face”. Whistler sued for libel and won, but was awarded a single farthing, and legal costs bankrupted him.