Valentine Cameron Prinsep. Etching and drypoint in brown ink on ivory coloured paper, 2nd state, c.1877-90; 14 ½ x 10 1/16 inches (36.8 x 25.6 cm) – platemark.
This etching exists in two states and is rare because only 50 impressions were ever printed and half were destroyed by the artist. The etching is a half-length portrait profile to the right of a middle-aged Prinsep seated in a chair with his right arm resting on the chair and the fingers of his hand resting on his vest. The face is treated in much more detail than is the body.
Prinsep likely met Legros initially in Paris through James Whistler when both were members of the “Paris Gang” training in the atelier of Charles Gleyre. After Legros moved to London in 1863 the two would have continued to meet because both were associated with the Pre-Raphaelite circle. Prinsep lived at 1 Holland Park Road close to his near neighbours Frederic Leighton and G. F. Watts.
Links to Related Material
Bibliography
Dodgson, Campbell: A catalogue of the etchings, drypoints and lithographs by Professor Alphonse Legros in the collection of Frank E. Bliss. London: Printed for Private Circulation, 1923, cat. no. 202, 49.
Created 20 November 2022