Wareham Bridge
Sir Francis Seymour Haden British
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 boy riding a horse in foreground, at right; extensive vegetation and a small cabin, at left; a second rider and additional horse standing in river, at right; Wareham bridge in background.
"State IV (Hd). Additional work on the hills in upper left and in the far distance at right. Two horses, one ridden by a man who turns towards the viewer, are added in the foreground; though basically drawn in outline there is light shading. Strong horizontal drypoint shading on near side of boathouse."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 311]
"Trial Proofs: (d) Two horses, with a man on the back of the one to the right, are added, in outline, in right foreground."
[Source: Harrington, p. 89]
