Griff
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."
Portrait of a bearded man, looking down, viewed in profile.
"Published States: First.- The bur of the dry-point removed. The line of the forepart of the head very faint, and the inscription re-written in more slanting characters.'Kew June 5 186.'; the last number being missing. A portrait of Charles Cole."
[Source: Harrington, p. 43]
"A portrait of Mr. Charles A. Cole, whose nickname was 'Griff.' The preparatory graphite drawing is in NG.
State III(H1). The bur of the drypoint removed and th line of the forehead and the 4 of the date are not visible."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 191]
