Grand Arroyo by Ernest Haskell

This is a drypoint etching by noted American artist Ernest Haskell titled, Grand Arroyo. It depicts rolling hills with a copse of trees at the bottom of the valley a favorite subject for the artist. The title doesn't suggest a specific location, but it could represent a California scene as the artist was known to have worked there towards the end of his life. This etching is not listed in his Catalogue Raisonne at least under this name. This is not unusual given that the catalogue was produced posthumously and additional prints by the artist have come to light since its publication. The image stacks the hills drawing the eye to the upper left of the scene where billowing clouds echo the shapes of the hills. There is suggestion of wind from the straight lines descending from the upper left. Drypoint is used to enhance the shadows in the trees in the foreground. The etching is small and is printed on a full sheet 5 x 3.75 inches. The plate is 3.75 x 2.25 inches. It is in very good condition, a crisp well-inked impression. It is faintly signed in pencil Ernest Haskell lower center. It is also signed in the plate, Haskell lower right. The title, Grand Arroyo is in the lower left margin and appears to be in the artist's handwriting. A number is given lower center and another lower right which could be the original price. No edition is given which is typical for Haskell's work. There are no issues with the paper including no tears, or paper loss. There are a couple of marks in the margins upper and right well away from the image. Otherwise, no stains, toning, fading, or foxing. An excellent example of the artist's work.

Ernest Haskell (1876-1925) Haskell was born in Connecticut and received his first training at the Woodstock Academy. While recovering from an attack of Typhoid Fever, he began to make sketches. Seen by an editor of a New York newspaper many were published. He began formal art study in Boston, but left after a few weeks to take a position at the New York American as an illustrator. In 1897, he went to Paris to ostensibly study at the Academie Julian. Rebelling against the formal academic tradition, he spent 2 years haunting the museums and galleries and working by himself. He returned to New York, worked as an illustrator and began doing some portraiture and caricature. He did two famous caricatures of Whistler which lead to a meeting with the great master. Whistler exposed Haskell to etching, a medium he enthusiastically embraced. He became a master etcher exploring a variety of techniques including flick engraving, and dry point. In particular, he was fond of trees doing oaks in Maine, pines on the beach, cypress from Florida and California and the giant sequoias and redwoods of the west coast. His work spans the range of tone from light and atmospheric to extremely dark and brooding. Haskell was tragically killed in an automobile accident depriving us of one of our great artists at the height of his powers. His work is held by most major American museums, including the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco, the National Gallery of Art, the New York Public Library, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.