UNIVERSITY of GLASGOW

Etchings         Institutions search term: british museum

Seymour Haden, Jr, Seated

Impression: Hunterian Art Gallery
Hunterian Art Gallery
(46716)
Number: 9
Date: 1857/1858
Medium: etching
Size: 137 x 98 mm
Signed: 'J Whistler' at lower left (obscured by shading)
Inscribed: no
Set/Publication: no
No. of States: 3
Known impressions: 24
Catalogues: K.29; M.6; T.16; W.22
Impressions taken from this plate  (24)

TECHNIQUE

This etching was drawn with considerable variety of line, from scrawling crossed zigzag lines for the shadows to regular shading and cross-hatching on the clothes and fine wavy lines for his hair. The signs of burnishing and scratches remain visible and provide a certain texture to the background. Some scratches - the one across the boy's arm and jacket for instance - are a little obtrusive, and it is surprining this was not removed.

PRINTING

It is very likely that early impressions were printed by Auguste Delâtre (1822-1907), and some impressions of the first state were acquired by French collectors (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290106), or by Americans in Paris (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290104).
There are over two dozen impressions of this etching in public collections, including three impressions of the first state. Most are in black ink, though some appear dark brown (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290203) possibly because of the colour of the paper.
They are on a variety of papers. First states are in black ink on cream laid paper with a partial watermark 'BARRY' (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290103), on buff laid (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290104) and off-white laid with 'Auverne' watermark (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290106). Several other laid papers have watermarks, such as a second state with 'A M' mark (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290102), and third states with a hunting horn in a shield (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290202) and a 'modern' (post-1800) paper with a partial watermark, 'GR' (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290210). In addition several are on Japanese paper (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290214), laid Asian (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290205, Graphic with a link to impression #K0290203) and very thin Japan (Graphic with a link to impression #K0290211).