Lot 148
148
JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER

The Thames (W. 125b; L. 180)

Details
JAMES McNEILL WHISTLER
The Thames (W. 125b; L. 180)
lithotint, 1896, on Chine appliqué, a very good, clear impression, second state (of three), signed with the butterfly in pencil, one of only about 10 impressions in this state (there were about 6 impressions in the first state and about 12 lifetime impressions in the third state), with margins, pale light-staining showing only in the support sheet, remains of old glue at the reverse of the support sheet edges, otherwise in good condition, framed
L. 10 7/16 x 7 7/16in. (267 x 195mm.)

Lot Essay

In 1896 Whistler returned to lithotint, assisted by the Ways. In this, the second state of The Thames, Whistler corrected the striations in the water which were the result of the preparation of the tint for the first state. "He created an evocation of the Thames at dusk. A sort of steam, a twilight mist of wonderful limpidity envelopes the whole scene", wrote Theodore Duret in 1904. It is the artist's last lithotint.