In 1894, Sir William Eden commissioned a portrait of his wife from Whistler, which the latter exhibited at the Salon of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. The parties agreed upon a price between 100 and 150 guineas. On 14 February 1894, Sir William visited Whistler and left an envelope to be opened only after he would have left. It contained a cheque for one hundred guineas. Whistler was displeased, as this indicated that Eden had offered the minimum price. Whistler subsequently returned the money but retained the painting and eventually erased Lady Eden's features. Eden initiated legal proceedings against Whistler to compel him to deliver the portrait. The Parisian Tribunal de la Seine ordered Whistler to return the painting, but he appealed. The Cour de Paris ruled in favour of Whistler, and the Cour de Cassation upheld this decision. All courts ordered Whistler to repay the sum he had received, with interest. For the artist, the final verdict meant that he retained control over the painting, as evidenced by the following quotation from Whistler in a pamphlet published after the verdict: ‘The artist is the master of his work from the elemental point of view, seeing that he is its creator. The artist is the owner of his creations.’
The trade editions of Eden vs. Whistler were published in Paris by Louis-Henry May, and in New York by R. H. Russell, 1899. Signed editions on larger paper, 125 for France and 125 for the USA, were numbered and signed by Whistler. Whistler's original intention was to have the book published by William Heinemann in London. However, fearing that the American edition would come out earlier than planned, Whistler then chose to publish the book’s European edition in Paris. As in the Gentle Art of Making Enemies, Whistler incorporated the butterflies into the book's design to reflect and complement the content.
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