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The Willows

1877
Not on view
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."
A meandering path leading to a row of willow trees; two of them with bare leaves seen to right.
"State III (Hb). The two small tree trunks on the left extended in outline to the top of the plate."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 333]
"Trial Proofs: (b) The two tree-trunks now reach the upper plate mark."
[Source: Harrington, p. 92]

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Willows
  • Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
  • Date: 1877
  • Medium: Drypoint; trial proof b (Harrington); second state of six (Schneiderman)
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 8 in. × 12 1/4 in. (20.3 × 31.1 cm)
    Plate: 5 7/8 × 8 15/16 in. (15 × 22.7 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of David Keppel, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.21.24
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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Penton Hook, Sir Francis Seymour Haden British, Etching and drypoint; trial proof c (Harrington); third state of six (Schneiderman)
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Combe Bottom, Sir Francis Seymour Haden British, Etching and drypoint; first state of three (Harrington); tenth state of sixteen (Schneiderman)
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