The Latest Tree

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."
Two fir trees at center; sketch of a trunk at left; sketch of a sheep at lower left.
"State III (H1). Most of the foul-biting on the left removed, the sheep in the lower left and the diagonal lines in the lower right reduced in strength. The foreground sheep re-etched and there are 'ghost' sheep which, because of either inking during printing or possibly wear, are usually not visible."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 391]
"Published State: First.-The plate to the left is quite clear."
[Source: Harrington, p. 111]