Soyer, Raphael. BEDTIME. Cole 54. Lithograph, 1937. 18 x 10 1/4 inches; 457 x 260 mm. Total edition of 225 commissioned by Rabin & Kreuger Gallery, Newark, NJ (a first edition of 75 was supplemented by a second edition of 150. Although Cole is silent about it, it seems likely that the second edition was really a further printing, done shortly after the first; he offers no indication that there is any variation between the two, or any way to tell them apart). In the next year Soyer did his first lithograph for Associated American Artists, "Protected" which is very similar to this image (here the baby looks at the viewer from the mother's right shoulder; in "Protected" the baby is on the mother's left shoulder; the format for "Protected" is smaller). Bedtime is much less frequently seen than "Protected," a surprise given that the editions were apparently close in size. A fine impression of this large, early print, in excellent condition.
