Page 242 - Swann Galleries - Old Master Through Modern Prints - Sale 2312 - May 1, 2013

307A ● JAMES A. M.WHISTLER
The Slipper.
Etching and drypoint printed in dark brownish black on antique cream laid paper, 1859.
120x80 mm; 4x3 inches, wide (full ?) margins. MacDonald’s second state (of 2). Partial,
indiscernible watermark with the letters LV G. A very good impression with crisp, inky
plate edges and warm plate tone.
According to MacDonald, there are approximately 30 recorded impressions of this subject.
Though commonly known by the title Reading in Bed,Whistler gave it the title The Slipper
(referring to the lone slipper on the floor in front of the bed), in the early 1870s.
A very scarce etching.We have found only 7 other impressions at auction in the past 25 years.
An intimate study ofWhistler’s older half-sister, Deborah Delano Haden, and the first of 3
etched versions of Deborah reading that he made in the late 1850s. According to
MacDonald, “Deborah was shortsighted, which explains why she is holding the journal so
close to her face. She eventually went blind.” Kennedy 28; Glasgow 43.
[4,000/6,000]