Windsor
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."
View of a creek which leads into the Thames at Windsor; trees and shrubs on either side of creek; tower and older parts of castle, at left in background; two shirtless boys preparing ot enter the creek in foreground, at right, viewed from behind; sailboat at right, in middleground; small punt moored to left of boys.
"This print and 'Greenwich (No. 187) were commissioned by The Fine Art Society, London.
State VIII (D1; H1, 25 impressions). The lower part of the sailboat on the right is darker.
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 353]
"Published States: First.-The reflections of the sail and the boat are shaded, and the lower part of the sail itself is darker. Twenty-five impressions."
[Source: Harrington, p. 99]
