The Guardian has reviewed James McNeill Whistler, a new documentary in the Exhibition on Screen strand, released in UK and Irish cinemas from 15 September and timed to coincide with a Tate Britain retrospective closing at the end of September. The review finds the film strikes a good balance between the American-born artist's colourful, scandal-strewn life and the quieter brilliance of his paintings, offering what it calls an excellent primer on a still-divisive figure.

The documentary features contributions from Tate curator Carol Jacobi, critic Rachel Campbell-Johnston and art historian Stephen Calloway, and covers key episodes including Whistler's move to London, his famous portrait of his mother, the Peacock Room controversy, and his libel case against critic John Ruskin, in which he was awarded just a farthing in damages before going bankrupt. The reviewer particularly praises the film's detailed treatment of individual works, such as Wapping and Harmony in Grey and Green, and a tender sketch of his terminally ill wife Beatrix, though notes that Whistler's delicate, shimmering style translates less effectively to screen than it does in the gallery.