Palace Court 1933 |
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Original etching. Signed in pencil. Comstock 49 iii/iii; Moore pp.236-239 & 246. S 262 x 179 mm; P & I 254 x 177 mm £795 |
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Original F.L.Griggs etching.
Excellent signed proof impression. One of about 75 proof impressions printed in the completed state of the plate (only five proofs had been pulled prior to the removal of the engraved dedication).
This plate was dedicated to the famous American Shakespearean actress Mary Anderson De Navarro, a close friend of F.L.Griggs, who lived in the neighbouring village of Broadway. Begun in early 1932 and completed by May 1933 this image is an imaginary subject which Griggs regarded as a form of essay on mediaeval East Anglian building. Jerrold Northrop Moore suggests that the architectural design in this etching reflects the architecture of Trinity College, Cambridge – a place especially dear to Mary Navarro, whose son had been a student at that college. This plate is unusual in F.L.Griggs’s oeuvre due to the inclusion of a comparatively large group of figures.
On pale cream laid paper trimmed, as was Griggs’s habit, to leave only thread margins and a larger base to allow space for his pencil dedication and signature. It was Griggs’s tendency to print on antique papers under considerable pressure; consequently, he would often trim his prints in this manner to avoid distortion occurring to the sheet. Slight foxing, otherwise very fine original condition. Image surface excellent. |
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