George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby has a character, Joe Sibley, "the idle apprentice," who was meant to depict Whistler. "Whistler threatened to sue, and in subsequent editions the character was replaced by another."Golding, John, "Supreme Outsider," The New York Review, May 25, 1995 Whistler was also the model for a character in Marcel Proust's novel, In Search of Lost Time — the painter Elstir.Dorment, Richard, "Venice Out of Season," The New York Review of Books, October 24, 1991.
George du Maurier's 1894 novel Trilby has a character Joe Sibley "the idle apprentice" who was meant to depict Whistler "Whistler threatened to sue and in subsequent editions the character was replaced by another"Golding John "Supreme Outsider" The New York Review May 25 1995 Whistler was also the model for a character in Marcel Proust's novel In Search of Lost Time — the painter ElstirDorment Richard "Venice Out of Season" The New York Review of Books October 24 1991