Nocturne, Blue and Silver, Chelsea

James McNeill Whistler painted this hushed view of the Thames at Chelsea in 1871, capturing that fleeting moment when day slips into night. Almost nothing stirs on the water. A dark barge lies flat and low, a lone figure lingers by the shore, and faraway lights blink like scattered sparks across the far bank. Everything melts into a haze of blue and silver, so that river, sky, and distant buildings seem to dissolve into one another. Whistler borrowed the word "Nocturne" from music, hoping his paintings would wash over you the way a gentle melody does.

Rather than chase every detail or spin a dramatic tale, Whistler chased a feeling, a soft evening calm you sense more than see. That was a bold choice in his day, when audiences expected paintings to show heroic deeds or crisp, recognizable scenes. His misty style so annoyed the critic John Ruskin that he accused Whistler of "flinging a pot of paint" in the public's face. Whistler dragged him to court over the insult and won, though his prize was a lone penny in damages. Whether that victory was worth the trouble is something you get to judge for yourself.