The Hay Barge, and the Thames at Barnes
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 center, view of a hay barge with people on board; to the right, a rotated view of the Thames at Barnes with several boats and buildings seen at a distance.
"Trial Proofs: (a) Very few impressions. Colls. Brit. Mus., and H."
[Source: Harrington, p. 60]
"State I (Ha). A hay barge, with several figures and a goat on board, etched at the center of the plate. At the right, a scene of the Thames at Barnes orientated at a right angle to the hay barge, with the inscription written vertically Barnes Whiteheart (E,l.r.)."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 241]
