The House By The Sea
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."
Pathway at left; home with smoking chimney in background at center; sea in distance with two sailboats.
"State IV (H1). Two figures drawn in outline stand near the door on the left side of the house, the two earthenware pots changed into shaded barrels. The top of the left post removed and replaced by a rounded top drawn in drypoint. The right peak of the house shaded."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 361]
"Published State: First.- There are two figures to the left of the door of the house, and the earthen pots have been changed into two shaded barrels. The post on the left of the road has now a rounded top, and is almost white in its upper two-thirds. The nets throw a shadow towards the right, and the roof is entirely shaded."
[Source: Harrington, p. 100]
Pathway at left; home with smoking chimney in background at center; sea in distance with two sailboats.
"State IV (H1). Two figures drawn in outline stand near the door on the left side of the house, the two earthenware pots changed into shaded barrels. The top of the left post removed and replaced by a rounded top drawn in drypoint. The right peak of the house shaded."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 361]
"Published State: First.- There are two figures to the left of the door of the house, and the earthen pots have been changed into two shaded barrels. The post on the left of the road has now a rounded top, and is almost white in its upper two-thirds. The nets throw a shadow towards the right, and the roof is entirely shaded."
[Source: Harrington, p. 100]
Artwork Details
- Title: The House By The Sea
- Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
- Date: 1879
- Medium: Etching with drypoint; first (final) state (Harrington); fourth state of five (Schneiderman)
- Dimensions: Sheet: 9 1/8 × 14 5/16 in. (23.2 × 36.3 cm)
Plate: 5 3/8 × 8 3/8 in. (13.7 × 21.3 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.2098
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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