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Estimate: $ 10,000 - $ 15,000
JAMES A. M. WHISTLER The Thames.
Lithotint with scraping on Chine appliqué, 1896. 265x195 mm; 10 1/2x7 3/4 inches, full margins. Second state (of 3). Edition of approximately only 10 in this state, from a total edition of approximately 30 (in all 3 states). Signed with the butterfly in pencil, lower right. Printed by Henry Bray at T. R. Way, London. A brilliant, luminous impression, with all the subtle tonal variations distinct.
This subject is among Whistler's most technically complicated lithographs, created over several months in early 1896 during which Whistler and his dying wife, Beatrix, occupied upper floor rooms at the Savoy Hotel overlooking the Thames River, London.
Whistler's extraordinary dedication to this image, was recognized by his printer, T. R. Way, who noted that, "He knew what he wanted to get, and nothing short of it would satisfy him, even if the work had to be done over and over again; no trouble was too great for him to take." (Spink, p. 454) Way 125; Levy 180; Spink 161.
