The Twins–Sarah and Anne Haden, No. II
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; a reedy bank and trees in the foreground, at right; at middle distance, a man punting and a wooden bridge behind; trees in background.
"State I (H1). A river landscape has been sketched in; in the foreground a reedy bank, trees and shrubs on the right. Before the background, which is enclosed by trees, there is a cottage, a wooden bridge and a figure fishing from a punt. Large puffy clouds fill the sky. With the inscription 'Seymour Haden 1881'.
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 391]
"Published State: First.-'Seymour Haden 1882.'
[Source: Harrington, p. 111]
