Tween the Gloamin and the Mirk when the Kye Come Hame by Mary Nimmo Moran
This is a striking etching by one of the best American female etchers of the 19th century, Mary Nimmo Moran. It was created in 1883 when she and her husband visited Scotland (where Nimmo Moran was born). Both produced a series of etchings from the trip. This is one of her best known. The use of sepia ink on cream paper creates an unusual atmosphere for the scene. The focus of the image is a bridge over a marsh. In the background a windmill and some buildings are in silhouette framed by dark and foreboding clouds. The etching was inspired by a verse from a Scottish song. The etching was created for Original Etchings by American Artists and a sheet with the song lyrics accompanied the etching. It was printed by J. J. Little and Co. and published by Cassell and Co. It is a sumptuous work that shows off her consummate skill as an artist and etcher. The detail on the bridge is extraordinary.
The piece is in fine condition. The etching itself is well struck and sharp without any issues. It is signed and dated in the plate lower left. The only condition issue is some foxing at the very lower border of the sheet well away from the image. There is very faint mat burn at the very periphery of the paper. The paper itself is just a bit stiff with age, but has no other issues. It is hinge mounted on non-archival materials. The sheet with the lyrics of the song is also present and in excellent condition. A stunning work by this iconic artist.
Mary Nimmo Moran (1842-1899) Mary Nimmo Moran was one of the great American woman artists of the 19th century. Born in Scotland, she came to the United States as a child and settled with her family near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She studied art with Thomas Moran, who she ultimately married. The traveled extensively and created art wherever they went. In the United States they lived mostly around Newark, New Jersey. She began to do plein air etchings in the 1880s and is acknowledged to be the best American female etcher of the 19th century. She exhibited extensively including at the National Academy of Design annual exhibit 6 times, and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Annual exhibit 4 times. She exhibited over 50 etchings at the Union League Club in New York City at the "Woman Etchers of America" show in 1888. She was featured in a retrospective exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in 1950. She won numerous awards for her work, most notably a medal and diploma at the Columbian Expo, Chicago, 1893. She was elected to the Society of Painter-Etchers of New York and was the only woman among the 65 original fellows chosen for the London Royal Society of Painter-Etchers. Her work is held in many major collections including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Smithsonian Museum of American Art, the High Museum of Art, and the Parrish Art Museum that had a special exhibit devoted to her work in 1984. Her career and life were cut tragically short when she succumbed to Typhoid Fever in 1899.
Price: $420
Size: 17.75 x 13.25 inches
Plate Size: 11.5 x 8.5 inces
Condition: Very Good
Medium: Etching
Subject: Landscape
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