Sonning 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."
Sonnig bridge at right; dog in boat in foreground at right; several boats in river at left; trees and homes in backgroudn on other side of river.
"State I (Ha). The left portion of Sonning Bridge (The Undivided Plate) after the plate was etched, printed and divided; the work in the lower right removed. (The inscription 'Seymour Haden 1887' (E, l.l.) added in state I of No 216 remains.)
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 397]
"Trial Proofs: (a) There is a blank space on the right of teh plate. 'Seymour Haden 1887.'
[Source: Harrington, p. 114]
