The plaquette's obverse bears James MacNeill Whistler standing, facing half left, with hand on his hip. To his left, butterfly signature and inscription: JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER / PAINTER ETCHER / AVTHOR; signed at top right, V. D. Brenner

The reverse bears peacock with inscription "MESSIEURS LES ENNEMIS!"; Whistler's butterfly device at bottom right. Signed at top, V.D.Brenner Sc.

James Abbott MacNeill Whistler (1834-1903) was an American painter, etcher, and author. Today he is counted among the great American artists. In his day, he was famous for his temper and for his uncompromising attitude towards art. "Art for art's sake" was a motto he lived by. 

The plaquette's obverse depicts Whistler in a pose that indicates barely contained impatience with the portraitist, possibly even disdain.

The reverse references two stories from Whistler's life. The peacock is a reference to a commission he had received from Frederick Leyland to decorate a dining room.  Rather than making the minor changes his patron had expected, Whistler refinished the entire room, overpainting a 16th century Cordoba leather wall for which Leyland had paid £1,000. When Leyland balked at the cost and the scope of the work, Whistler included him in the design as a peacock with gold on his body and at his feet.  He also later painted him, depicting him as an anthropomorhic peacock playing the piano and titled the painting "The Gold Scab: Eruption in Frithy Lucre", a pun on Leyland's fondness for frilly shirt fronts.

The quote relates to Whistler's bitter autobiography, titled "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies." Whistler had earlier pursued a libel suit against an art critic.While he won the suit, he was not awarded the damages he had sought and the legal costs combined with his already precarious finances to drive him into bankruptcy.  All his paintings were auctioned off and—to add insult to injury—Leyland oversaw their sale.

The rectangular plaquette measures 89.7mm x 65.4mm and was struck in bronze. No mintage is reported.

Gorham later manufactured a cast bronze plaque from Brenner's model.

References:   Baxter 127, Marqusee 75