The Sisters

Artist James McNeill Whistler (American, 1834–1903)

Date1894

Mediumlithograph on cream laid paper

Dimensions22.2 x 28.8 cm (8 3/4 x 11 5/16 in.)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineBequest of Malcolm R. McBride

Terms

Object number1989.86

Label TextNative to Lowell, Massachusetts, Whistler was known throughout Europe as a wit, a dandy, and a self-promoter. Already an accomplished etcher, Whistler was encouraged to experiment with lithography by his wife Beatrice, an artist in her own right. Sketched in Paris and later printed in London, this evocative work depicts Beatrice and her sister Rosalind at ease in the Whistler home. Sadly, soon after this print was published, Beatrice was diagnosed with cancer, dying only two years later at age thirty-nine. Apart from a few portraits of his wife’s last days, Whistler all but abandoned lithography after Beatrice’s death. ProvenanceMalcolm R. McBride, Fiesole, Italy

On View

Not on view