Kensington Gardens

1859
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."
Trees and their shadows cast across the center foreground; hedges in middleground; building (the home of Lord Harrintgon) in background.
"State IX (H3). A few drypoint lines added to the foreground."
[Schneiderman, p. 57]
"Published States: Third.-A few dry-point touches are added, and the effect resembles that of the First State, but there is neither second signature nor date."
[Source: Harrington, p.6 ]

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Kensington Gardens
  • Artist: Sir Francis Seymour Haden (British, London 1818–1910 Bramdean, Hampshire)
  • Date: 1859
  • Medium: Etching and drypoint; third state of three (Harrington); ninth state of ten (Schneiderman)
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 8 15/16 × 7 7/16 in. (22.7 × 18.9 cm)
    Plate: 6 5/16 × 4 5/8 in. (16 × 11.8 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Bequest of Susan Dwight Bliss, 1966
  • Object Number: 67.630.129
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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