The Inn, Purfleet
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 river landscape of the Thames by Purfleet; in the foreground, to the right, two fishermen mending nets, standing on the river bank; sailing boats, steamboats and a rowing boat in the water.
"Published States: First.-'Purfleet' added on the left, and on the right, following '1869,' 'Seym'Haden.f.'"
[Source: Harrington, p. 68]
""A scene on the left bank of the tidal waters of the lower Thames, some twelve miles east of London-at the western end of Essex, opposite Erith.
State VI (D1, H1). With the addition of the inscription Purfleet (D, l.l.) and the signature Seymr Haden. ft (D, l.r.)"
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 261]
