Dolmellynlyn

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."
Scotch firs stand on a sloping hill, in the foreground, to the left; at mid-distance, a river valley with trees seen from distance. Counterproof.
"A well-known romantic spot, the Dolmellynlyn Estate in North Wales was a tourist attraction early in the nineteenth century. A tour-guide's handbill published in Thomas Roscoe's Wanderings and Excursions in North Wales (London, 1836, 235) advertises a walking tour 'to and over the most tremendous Mountain, Cader Idris, to the stupendous cataracts of Cayn and Mawddach, and to the enchanting cascades of Dolmellynlyn, with all its beautiful and romantic scenery.
State II (Da?, I impression; Ha). Additional etched work on the foreground rocks, the sheep are completed and tree added to the right middle distance. The signature re-etched and is à double trait."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 291]
"Trial Proofs: (a) On a stone in front, 'Dolmellynlyn,' and 'Seymour Haden' to the right. Coll. H."
[Source: Harrington, p. 75]