James McNeill Whistler is considered by some to be one of the great innovators of 19th century art.

He was a contemporary of the Impressionists, much admired by Van Gogh and Manet. Boldly experimental and famously witty, Whistler disrupted the strict conventions of Victorian society in persuit of a new cult of beauty, creating "art for art's sake", and earning himself a place in the history of great art. His most famous painting, Arrangement in Grey and Black No.1 (1871), commonly known as Whistler's Mother, is a revered and often parodied portrait of motherhood.

Tate Britain is currently holding the first major retrospective of Whistler in three decades and has reawakened people to just how important he is to art history, uniting world-famous masterpieces with rarely seen works. This film will be a chance to get to know this visaually spectacular artist and the influence he has had on those who followed.