A Likely Place For Salmon
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; foreground unworked; at center, sailing boats, behind, seen from distance, the river bank.
"Published State: First.-The plate reduced in 10 in. w., 6 2/8 in. h. The dark brig on the right, and the signature, removed."
[Source: Harrington, p. 68]
"State VI (H1). Drypoint used to strengthen several of the small boats and several areas on the shore."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 263]