Original etching from the edition of 180 from 1866 by famous listed British museum artist Sir Francis Seymour Haden (1818-1910): “The Towing Path” (1864, first published state before woman was replaced w/ a second dog, depicts the area of Hampton Court where Henry VIII lived / Kingston-Upon-Thames in Surrey, southwest London). Claude Monet painted “Impression Sunrise” in 1872, but I think Impressionism actually began before that, with artists like Haden and Whistler.

Signed and dated “Seymour Haden 1864” upper right plate, faintly inscribed “Hampton Court” lower left and inscribed “The Towing Path” in the plate lower right. Another example of this etching, which was never meant to be numbered or autographed, can be seen on the Baltimore Museum of Art web-site.

Etching plate size: approx. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches. Measures approx. 14 5/8 x 16 5/8 overall with frame. The etching has not been examined out of the frame but looks to be in very good condition. Comes with old frame, matting, and glass. The frame has losses, so it needs repair or replacing. For safety in shipping, I can ship this without the frame and glass (will include matting and anything on back, though) -- please message me and let me know your preference.

Haden and his brother in law, James Abbott McNeill Whistler, were leading Victorian era artists. They collaborated & used the printing press Haden had installed at his Sloane Street home in London, England. Haden’s wife was American musician Dasha Whistler, Whstler’s sister, aka Lady Deborah Delano Whistler Haden.

This is one of thirty Haden etchings included in the folio dedicated to him, “Etudes a l'eau forte”, published by Auguste Delatre and with text by Philippe Burty. I was able to acquire this one and 7 other etchings (see my upcoming eBay listings) that were originally from the folio. All had been framed maybe 70+ years ago.

The folio, “Etudes a l'eau forte”, was intended to be published in an edition of 250, but that didn’t happen because the plates began to fail.

Frederick Gutekunst, the art dealer who was granted the rights to sell all of Haden's remaining prints upon his death, noted at the front of his catalogue in July 1911: "It may be useful to add that those impressions of Sir Seymour Haden's early and rare etchings, which were published in portfolio form in Paris in 1865-66, under the title "Etudes a l'eau forte" have, with the exception of one or two sets, never been signed in autograph by Sir Seymour, and do not, of course, bear any stamp of any kind."

According to another source, regarding the etchings included in the folio, “the impressions are pasted on thick wove paper and reflect one of six kinds of techniques: etching, etching with drypoint, etching and drypoint, etching with foul-biting, etching with mezzotint, and etching with/and drypoint on copper”.

Since believing Haden’s dealer, Mr. Gutekunst, makes sense, what doesn’t make sense are pencil signed etchings on the market that are the “state” as published in the folio before the plates were destroyed. Per the documentation, 178 times out of 180, these etchings should NOT be pencil signed.

Some from the folio were first published state and some were second, and each is specifically noted in the period book: The Etched Work of Francis Seymour Haden by Sir William Richard Drake, F.S.A., 1880. Haden was a very active, involved artist and made changes to his etching plates to improve the images, etc. So, a second state etching may be better than a first state example depending on which you like better.

The Haden etchings I’m offering on eBay are all from the same collection and the documented edition of 180. They are the following titles in Sir Drake’s book: Egham Lock (ca. 1859), Out of Study Window (1859), Early Morning - Richmond (1859), Kensington Gardens (the small plate, 1859), Kidwelly Town (1859), Battersea Reach (1863), The Towing Path (1864), and Evening (1864).

For most of these Haden etchings, the plate was destroyed after the folio was released, at some time between 1866-1880. The exceptions are Egham Lock, for which there was a later, third published state in mezzotint and The Towing Path in which the woman figure was replaced by a second dog (it's just one Skye Terrier dog in the version offered here) in a later, subsequent state.

This example is from a print edition that’s around average (200 or less), but since they came out over 160 years ago, there are relatively few of these etchings available. I consider the Haden prints part of the greater and perhaps most famous art story: Arrangement in Grey and Black No. 1 (1871) aka Whistler’s Mother.

Wasn’t Whistler’s mother also called “mother” by Mr. Haden? Her name was Anna, by the way. In 1863, at the urging of the Hadens, Anna moved from Connecticut, USA to London, England, UK where she could be with her family.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler could be a difficult person to get along with. He was perhaps better known in his lifetime for his book, “The Gentle Art of Making Enemies”, than he was for his art. Even though they were family, soon after Haden’s etching folio came out, Seymour Haden actually became one of those Whistler enemies.

In 1867, a mutual friend of Whistler and Haden, John Traer, died in a brothel in Paris. Apparently, either Whistler accused Haden of disrespecting Traer and/or was mad that Haden wouldn’t pay for the funeral. So, Whistler knocked Haden through a plate-glass window in Paris (!). They were summoned before a juge de paix, Whistler was fined, and supposedly the two guys never made up.