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1834-1903
THE SIESTA (W. 122; S./S./T. 159)

measurements
135 by 210 mm 5 1/4 by 8 1/4 in

alternate measurements
sheet 186 by 242 mm 7 1/4 by 9 1/2 in

Lithograph, 1896, a very fine impression of this exceptionally rare and important print, on laid paper, with margins, in good condition

NOTE

provenance
Thomas R. Way (L. 2456)
Otto Gerstenberg (L. 2785)
Galerie Wolfgang Ketterer, Munich, catalgue 33, no. 72 (illustrated)
R.E. Lewis
Acquired by the present owner from the above in 1967

exhibited
London, Tate Gallery; Paris, Musée d'Orsay; Washington, National Gallery of Art, Washington, James McNeill Whistler, 1994-95, no. 194, (illustrated)

In February 1896, two years after being diagnosed with cancer and with only a few months left to live, Beatrix Whistler and her husband took a suite at the Savoy Hotel overlooking the Thames. Though refusing to accept the gravity of his wife's condition, the artist stayed at her bedside and occupied himself with drawing a series of lithographs. Most of these works depict the view of the river from the window but two haunting portraits of his beloved Trixie, The Siesta and By the Balcony, capture the atmosphere and sentiment surrounding their stay at the Savoy.

While The Siesta portrays Beatrix as fragile and weary, her illness is veiled, perhaps reflecting Whistler's reluctance to imagine her inevitable demise. His denial is evident in a letter to his New York dealer, Edward Kennedy, written to accompany the drawing he sent and originally referred to as 'la belle dame convalescente.' In it, he declared Beatrix's health to be improving and went on to suggest that the drawing might make a good lithograph. Beatrix Whistler died on May 10, 1896, just over a week after the artist received from Way a proof of the first edition of his catalogue, including image number 122, not yet titled The Siesta.

Way records a total of thirty-one examples of this image, however, understandably pained by the memory of his late wife, Whistler was disinclined to relinquish but a few impressions and may have destroyed any proofs he withheld. The present example initially belonged to Way and upon leaving the printer's collection was aqcuired by Otto Gerstenberg. It was purchased by Mr. Walter in 1967.