While Lucas had a rapport with many French artists, James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Lucas shared a personal as well as professional relationship. Lucas helped arrange numerous exhibits of Whistler's work in Paris, and Whistler painted Lucas' portrait in 1886, which was given to Henry Walters in 1908. Frequently, Lucas stayed at his friend's country estate house, and the two men regularly corresponded from 1862 to 1886. The friendship came to an end in 1886 when Whistler left Maud Franklin for Beatrix Godwin, whom he married in 1888. Lucas took the side of Franklin and helped her settle in Paris.
