Mitchell was a great admirer of Henri Matisse, especially the vividness of his color and vivacity of his line, once claiming that, "If I could paint like Matisse, I'd be in heaven." Mitchell's New York dealer, Xavier Fourcade, had been diagnosed with AIDS and, in 1986, travelled to France to undergo treatment. Fourcade and Mitchell visited Lille in December to view an exhibition of works by Matisse from the State Hermitage Museum, Leningrad. The trip resulted in the "Lille" cycle of paintings, followed, after Xavier Fourcade's death on April 28, 1987, by the "Chord" paintings. The "River", "Lille" and "Chord" paintings were exhibited at Galerie Jean Fournier, Paris between June 10 and July 13, 1987.