Cardigan Bridge
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."
At sunrise, from Cardigan bridge, Wales; view of the river with boats and the town, seen from distance.
"This view has been drawn from the bridge looking north and northwest across the river to Cardigan town; the quay is visible in the foreground.
State I (D1,H1). The scene has been etched, but before additional work in the water in the lower left and before additional shading on the high tree at the middle of the plate. With the inscription from the Bridge at Cardigan Aug. 17. 1864 (E, 1.1.)."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 161]
"First.-Fewer lines in the water in left lower corner, and less shading on the high tree in the middle of the plate. 'From the Bridge at Cardigan Aug. 17, 1864'"
[Source: Harrington, p. 33]
