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pp. 196 b/w illustrations, “James McNeil Whistler (1834-1903), the American-born artist who studied in Paris and lived and worked for the greater part of his life in London, is today one of the most widely collected of the great print-makers. His reputation has increased steadily since his death and it is ironic that only now does his work receive the full appreciation it has so obviously always merited. Living as he did in Cheyne Walk, it is natural that many of his finest prints relate to the Chelsea area and the River Thames. The river and its changing moods were a source of endless inspiration to the artist and, in may ways, a reflection of his own constantly changing fortunes. Such lithographs as “The Savoy Pigeons”, and “By The Balcony”, a touching portrait of his dying wife Trixie, both made in 1896 at the Savoy Hotel, are exquisitely subtle and full of the tenderest emotions. Today, with the continuing rise in the price of his pictures–quite apart from their rarity–few collectors or galleries can afford to acquire a Whistler drawing or painting. Many of his prints, however, can still be bought for relatively modest sums of money, and this applies particularly to such lithographs as the little series published by The Studio review in the mid-1890’s which includes “Gants de Suede” and “The Savoy Pigeons.”” blank bookplate on FEP