The Towing Path
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 river landscape; a small dog walking on the river path in the foreground at center.
"Trial Proofs: (i) Much additional work all over the work, but especially in the reflections in the water. The line of the towing-path is again straight on the right."
[Source: Harrington, p. 38]
"State XV.Additional drypoint shading to right of dog and new shading from clump of trees at left center extends almost to towing path."
[Source: Schneiderman, p. 179]
