Battersea Reach
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 view of the Thames at Battersea; railway bridge at a distance; in the foreground, a man in profile, looking left toward other seated figures in shadow.
"A view of the Thames at Battersea with Battersea Railway Bridge in the distance.
State IV (D1,H1) Published in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts, XVII (1864), 274. The wherries in midstream and the signboard are strengthened with additional etched work. Additional work on the parapet and there is a triangle of light at the lower left. The upper toso of the man leaning on the parapet at the left has been completely shaded. There is a shadow of ink (from weakness in the plate) horizontally below the left center."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 137]
"Published States: First.-The work further strengthened, and a ray of light is thrown upon the parapet on the left. Published in the Gazette des Beaux Arts, First Series, vol. xvii., 1864, p. 274"
[Source: Harrington, p. 26]
