Nocturne in Black and Gold — The Falling Rocket. This impression of the night sky with fireworks, by American expatriate James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903), shocked London viewers when it was shown in 1878. The most powerful critic of the day likened it to “flinging a pot of paint in the public’s face”; Whistler sued him. Detroit Institute of Arts, USA/Gift of Dexter M. Ferry Jr./The Bridgeman Art Library.