Windmill Hill, No. 1
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."
Castle in background at right; foliage in foreground.
"State I (Da, I impression; Ha). A woman has been sketched while washing clothes in the shallow water of the tree-shaded moat; the surrounding woods are very dark; in the center distance is the keep of Corfe Castle, and in the left distance several houses and possibly a church have been sketched in. With the inscription Seymour Haden 1877(D, l.l.)"
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 317]
"Trial Proof: (a) 'Seymour Haden 1877' Only one impression taken. Coll. Harris B. Dick. Done at Corfe Castle."
[Source: Harrington, p. 86]
