Windhill Hill, No 2
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."
Landscape with bank of shrubs at center; trees in background.
"State III (D1?, H1). There is addtional work in the middle distance and in the foreground; the black patches of shading on distant bushes removed. Faint lines run from bottom center through lower right corner, and flecks at upper left extend horizon line to left edge."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 307]
"There is additional work in the middle distance and in the foreground, and the black patches on the bushes are removed."
[Source: Harrington, p. 82]
