 |
|
|
|
|
WARD, William & George KEATING after George MORLAND
A Party Angling
London: Published by John Raphael Smith, 28 November 1789. Colour printed mezzotint with added hand colour. In good condition with the exception of a skillful repair within the image. Image size: 17 1/8 x 21 1/2 inches. Sheet size: 19 1/8 x 23 3/4 inches.
One of the most famous fishing prints after George Morland, the master of English genre painting.
George Morland was one of the most successful genre painters of his time, creating, during his industrious career, some of England's most cherished paintings. At an early age Morland displayed his artistic genius. He learned to paint at three and exhibited his first work at the Royal Academy at the mere age of ten. He was a prodigious painter, producing more than 4000 paintings during the entirety of his career, and sometimes painting two or three works in a day. His beautiful, idealistic scenes were a favorite source of inspiration for contemporary engravers, and as many as 250 separate engravings were done of his paintings during his lifetime.
His brother-in-law, William Ward, engraved a great number of his paintings, reproducing in print his endearing paintings of English country life. Ward's engravings after Morland are some of the most beautiful prints of the period; they combine fine technical skill and inspired artistic imagination to create enduring images that speak of the taste and beauty of the age.
During the eighteenth century, punt fishing became a very fashionable sport. Gentlemen and ladies gathered in droves to enjoy this popular outdoor pursuit. Morland was so struck with the charm of this pastime that he quickly rendered it on canvas, thus creating two of his most cherished paintings. The two fashionable ladies pictured in the paintings are in fact Morland and Ward's wives, while the gentlemen are John Raphael Smith and the engraver himself.
Mellon British Sporting and Animal Prints p.123 (one of a pair); Siltzer p.189 (one of a pair).
|
#5286 $3,500.00 
|
© 2002-2005 Donald A. Heald
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
