The Ball on Shipboard

1871–1882 · Virkested

London

1872

A house in St John's Wood and a large income

Quickly famous as a painter of elegantly dressed women in scenes of fashionable life, by 1872 Tissot had bought a house in St John's Wood, an area much favoured by London artists, and that year he earned 94,515 francs, an income normally enjoyed only by the upper classes. In 1873 he joined the Arts Club, and Edmond de Goncourt mocked his studio, where iced champagne awaited visitors at all times.

1874

Declines the first Impressionist exhibition

In 1874 Degas asked Tissot to join the first exhibition of the artists who became known as the Impressionists. Tissot declined but remained a close acquaintance of the group.

c. 1874

In Venice with Manet

Around 1874 Tissot travelled to Venice with Édouard Manet, and Berthe Morisot visited him in London. He regularly saw Whistler, who influenced his Thames scenes and introduced him to Japanese art: Japanese objects and costumes became a regular presence in Tissot's pictures.

1875 or 1876

Meets Kathleen Newton

In 1875 or 1876 Tissot met Kathleen Newton, an Irish divorcee who became his companion and the sitter for dozens of his paintings and studies. Their relationship quickly became intimate.

1876 · Virkested

Ramsgate