The Fisherman
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 half-length figure of a bearded fisherman with a hat and a fishing rod in his hands at left; trees lightly sketched in background.
"Plate IV (Hc). A considerable portion of the background at center, the whole of the foreground to the left and right of the figure, and the signature are removed."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 165]
"Trial proofs (c) A considerable portion of the background and the whole of the fore-ground to the left of the figure is removed."
[Source: Harrington, p. 34]
