The Sisters

Accession Number
2011/1.75

Title
The Sisters

Artist(s)
James Abbott McNeill Whistler

Artist Nationality
American (North American)

Object Creation Date
1894-1895

Medium & Support
transfer lithograph, with scraping on antique cream laid paper

Dimensions
8 3/8 in. x 11 1/2 in. ( 21.27 cm x 29.21 cm )

Credit Line
Museum Purchase in honor of Nesta R. Spink, made possible by the Oakriver Foundation

Subject matter
Executed a few months before the Whistlers received the diagnosis of Beatrix's cancer, this work was probaby drawn in the Whistler's home in Paris at 110, rue du Bac. Beatrix, reclining in the armchair exhibits the fatigue that characterized her illness.
Thomas R. Way printed an edition of about 50 impressions; about half of those were signed by the artist. Rosalind Birnie Philip had the stone erased and there were no posthumous impressions taken.

Physical Description
Two women dressed in dark clothing sit in an interior setting. The nearer woman leans far back in an armchair, head resting on her left hand, legs crossed. The other woman is sitting more upright at the center of the composition. The women look at one another in an attitude of quiet conversation. To the left of the composition is a round table.

Primary Object Classification
Print

Primary Object Type
portrait

Rights
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit http://umma.umich.edu/request-image for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.

Keywords
lounges (sitting rooms)
portraits
sisters (siblings)
transfer lithography
women (female humans)

2 Related Resources

Families
(Part of 5 Learning Collections)
Sickness and Suffering
(Part of: History of Medicine - American Association of Historians of Medicine (AAHM))

& Author Notes

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