The Keep
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 distant view of the ruins of Corfe Castle in background; two cows at center, tree in foreground at left.
"State IV(H2). The trunk of the large, felled tree at the left foreground has been removed and redrawn; Haden removed. Additional shading on the cows. During the printing some of the bur wears."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 315]
"Published State: Second.- The trunk of the large tree in the foreground has been remodelled, in which process 'Haden' has been scraped out. Fresh shading has been added on the cows, especially upon the more distant one. The plate generally, however, is less rich, and is more denuded of bur. Done at Corfe Castle."
[Source: Harrington, p. 84]
