Thames Fishermen
Seymour Haden was the unlikely combination of a surgeon and an etcher. Although he pursued a very successful medical career, he is mostly remembered for his etched work as well as for his writings on etching. He was one of a group of artists, including James McNeill Whistler (1834–1903) and Alphonse Legros (1837–1911), whose passionate interest in the medium led to the so-called etching revival, a period that lasted well into the twentieth century. The extolling of etching for its inherent spontaneous qualities reached its pinnacle during this time. While the line of the etching needle, Haden wrote, was "free, expressive, full of vivacity," that of the burin was "cold, constrained, uninteresting," and "without identity."
View of river, trees on banks at left and right; man standing in boat at center.
'A scene of the Thames as it meanders west of London, banked with woods and rolling hills. The composition is probably based on the watercolor 'Thames at Evening'(VA)'
State IV (D3,H3). The plate has been etched and the effect is somewhat heavy. New work in the trees in the right middle distance; and trees in center distance are fuller.The birds in left distance removed and the top branches of trees on left are faint.'
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 67]
'Published States:Third.-There are several minor changes, and the reflections of the small trees in the centre are removed. The plate, which in the previous states was wholly in dry-point, is now bitten, and the effect is black and heavy.'
[Source: Harrington, p. 5]
View of river, trees on banks at left and right; man standing in boat at center.
'A scene of the Thames as it meanders west of London, banked with woods and rolling hills. The composition is probably based on the watercolor 'Thames at Evening'(VA)'
State IV (D3,H3). The plate has been etched and the effect is somewhat heavy. New work in the trees in the right middle distance; and trees in center distance are fuller.The birds in left distance removed and the top branches of trees on left are faint.'
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 67]
'Published States:Third.-There are several minor changes, and the reflections of the small trees in the centre are removed. The plate, which in the previous states was wholly in dry-point, is now bitten, and the effect is black and heavy.'
[Source: Harrington, p. 5]
Artwork Details
- Title: Thames Fishermen
- Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
- Date: 1859
- Medium: Etching and drypoint; third state of three (Harrington); fourth state of four (Schneiderman)
- Dimensions: Sheet: 7 3/8 × 5 3/8 in. (18.7 × 13.7 cm)
Plate: 5 1/4 × 3 3/4 in. (13.3 × 9.5 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.267
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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