On July 21, 1959, Hemingway turned sixty, and to mark that watershed, his wife Mary threw an elaborate party at the spacious home of a millionaire friend who was serving as their host during their stay in Spain. Hemingway enjoyed himself immensely, but the celebration produced some indications that all was not well with him. Among them was a nasty flash of ill temper directed at his frontline pal from World War II, General "Buck" Lanham. Having come from Washington for the party, he left Spain certain that Hemingway was a very troubled man.
Hemingway's stability did not improve over the next few years, and on July 2, 1961, following several rounds of electroshock therapy, he killed himself at his home in Idaho.
Hemingway opening presents at his sixtieth birthday party in Spain
Cano (lifedates unknown) /
Gelatin silver print, 1959
Image courtesy Ernest Hemingway Collection, John F. Kennedy Library, Boston, Massachusetts
