New York Etching Club
Encyclopedia
The New York Etching Club was the first professional organization in America devoted to the medium of etching
. Its founders were inspired by the Etching revival
that had blossomed in France and England in the middle 19th century. The purpose of the club was to create and promote etchings that did not merely reproduce existing paintings, but were original creations of art in their own right.
The first meeting of the New York Etching Club took place in the studio of James David Smillie
on May 2, 1877. An etching by Robert Swain Gifford
was printed on a small press under the supervision of Dr. Leroy Milton Yale. Eventually, bi-monthly meetings moved to the studio of Henry Farrer
where etchings were printed from a press that Farrer built.
Other important members of the New York Etching Club included Charles Adams Platt, Thomas Moran
, Mary Nimmo Moran
, Samuel Colman
, Kruseman Van Elten, William Merritt Chase
, Frederick Stuart Church
, Stephen Parrish
, Joseph Pennell
, and Thomas Waterman Wood
. For most members, etching was an important side-interest to their main occupation as painters.
The New York Etching Club held regular exhibitions through the early 1890s in which members and invited guests displayed their etchings for sale to the general public. From 1879 to 1881, works by members of the New York Etching Club were also featured in a periodical called "The American Art Review". Published under the leadership of Sylvester Rosa Koehler
, the first curator of prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
, it further popularized etching as a medium and the New York Etching Club as a professional organization. The success of the New York Etching Club helped spawn similar organizations in other major American cities in the late 19th century.
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
. Its founders were inspired by the Etching revival
Etching revival
The Etching Revival is the name given by at the time, and by art historians, to the renaissance of etching as an original form of printmaking during a period of time stretching approximately from 1850 to 1930.-Historical outline:...
that had blossomed in France and England in the middle 19th century. The purpose of the club was to create and promote etchings that did not merely reproduce existing paintings, but were original creations of art in their own right.
The first meeting of the New York Etching Club took place in the studio of James David Smillie
James David Smillie
James David Smillie , American artist, was born in New York City.His father, James Smillie , a Scottish engraver, emigrated to New York in 1829, was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1851, did much, with his brother William Cumming , to develop the engraving of bank-notes, and was an...
on May 2, 1877. An etching by Robert Swain Gifford
Robert Swain Gifford
Robert Swain Gifford was an American landscape painter. He was influenced by the Barbizon school.Much of his work focuses on the landscapes of New England, where he was born. He, along with Victorian contemporaries from the White Mountain and Hudson River Schools, helped immortalize the majestic...
was printed on a small press under the supervision of Dr. Leroy Milton Yale. Eventually, bi-monthly meetings moved to the studio of Henry Farrer
Henry Farrer
Henry Farrer was an English-born American artist known for his tonalist watercolor landscapes and etchings.-Life:...
where etchings were printed from a press that Farrer built.
Other important members of the New York Etching Club included Charles Adams Platt, Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran
Thomas Moran from Bolton, England was an American painter and printmaker of the Hudson River School in New York whose work often featured the Rocky Mountains. Moran and his family took residence in New York where he obtained work as an artist...
, Mary Nimmo Moran
Mary Nimmo Moran
Mary Nimmo Moran , also found as M. Nimmo Moran, was a prominent American 19th century landscape artist specializing in etchings. She completed roughly 70 landscape etchings, which included scenes of England and Scotland, and in the United States, Long Island, New Jersey, Florida and Pennsylvania...
, Samuel Colman
Samuel Colman
Samuel Colman was an American painter, interior designer, and writer, probably best remembered for his paintings of the Hudson River....
, Kruseman Van Elten, William Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase was an American painter known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons The New School for Design.- Early life and training :He was born in Williamsburg , Indiana, to the family...
, Frederick Stuart Church
Frederick Stuart Church
Frederick Stuart Church was an American artist, working mainly as an illustrator and especially known for his depiction of animals.-Biography:...
, Stephen Parrish
Stephen Parrish
Stephen Parrish was a painter and an etcher from the United States.-Biography:Parrish was engaged in mercantile pursuits until he was 30, when he applied himself to art, studying for a year with a local teacher. In 1878 he first exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy in Philadelphia, and in 1879 at...
, Joseph Pennell
Joseph Pennell
Joseph Pennell was an American artist and author.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, and first studied there, but like his compatriot and friend, James McNeill Whistler, he afterwards went to Europe and made his home in London...
, and Thomas Waterman Wood
Thomas Waterman Wood
Thomas Waterman Wood was an American painter born in Montpelier, Vermont.- Origins :Thomas Waterman Wood's father, John Wood, came to Montpelier from Lebanon, New Hampshire in 1814. The Wood family was of Puritan stock, and it was from Lebanon that John Wood, the father of the artist, married his...
. For most members, etching was an important side-interest to their main occupation as painters.
The New York Etching Club held regular exhibitions through the early 1890s in which members and invited guests displayed their etchings for sale to the general public. From 1879 to 1881, works by members of the New York Etching Club were also featured in a periodical called "The American Art Review". Published under the leadership of Sylvester Rosa Koehler
Sylvester Rosa Koehler
Sylvester Rosa Koehler was an author, and the first curator of prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston....
, the first curator of prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts, is one of the largest museums in the United States, attracting over one million visitors a year. It contains over 450,000 works of art, making it one of the most comprehensive collections in the Americas...
, it further popularized etching as a medium and the New York Etching Club as a professional organization. The success of the New York Etching Club helped spawn similar organizations in other major American cities in the late 19th century.