The Thames

1871–1882 · Virkested

London

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

1877

Kathleen moves in with Tissot

In 1877 Kathleen Newton moved into Tissot's house. His Catholic faith did not recognise her divorce, but they lived openly as husband and wife (the servants called her “Madame Tissot”), and Tissot later called these years the happiest of his life: he could be a family man, and her children often visited.