A Sketch Off Greenwich
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 ships in a harbor; townscape in distance at left.
"State IV (Hb). The plate rebitten. Additional work in sky and water; the mainsail and spanker of the schooner in the lower right shaded."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 359]
"Trial Proofs: (b) The plate re-bitten, and there is much more work in the sky and the water. The mainsail of the boat on the right is shadded. Coll. H. This plate 'was done as a 'send off' to Mr. Samuel Avery at the termination of one of his visits to England."
[Source: Harrington, p. 359]
View of ships in a harbor; townscape in distance at left.
"State IV (Hb). The plate rebitten. Additional work in sky and water; the mainsail and spanker of the schooner in the lower right shaded."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 359]
"Trial Proofs: (b) The plate re-bitten, and there is much more work in the sky and the water. The mainsail of the boat on the right is shadded. Coll. H. This plate 'was done as a 'send off' to Mr. Samuel Avery at the termination of one of his visits to England."
[Source: Harrington, p. 359]
Artwork Details
- Title: A Sketch Off Greenwich
- Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
- Date: 1879
- Medium: Etching; trial proof b (Harrington); fourth state of four (Schneiderman)
- Dimensions: Sheet: 4 5/8 × 7 7/8 in. (11.8 × 20 cm)
Plate: 2 15/16 × 6 9/16 in. (7.5 × 16.7 cm) - Classification: Prints
- Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1917
- Object Number: 17.3.2062
- Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints
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