• Reading Public Museum
    Open 11a-5p DailyAdmission
  • Neag Planetarium
    Show ScheduleAdmission
  • Arboretum
    Open everyday from sunrise to sunset
Collections Menu

London Bridge

London Bridge

Artist: Lester George Hornby (American, 1882 - 1956)

Date: 1908
Medium: ink on paper
Dimensions:
Framed: 17 1/4 x 18 3/4 x 1 in. (43.8 x 47.6 x 2.5 cm)
Mat: 22 x 19 in. (55.9 x 48.3 cm)
Sheet: 25 1/8 x 16 1/4 in. (63.8 x 41.3 cm)
Image: 7 3/4 x 10 in. (19.7 x 25.4 cm)
Credit Line:Museum Purchase
Object number: 1949.73.2.1

Hornby studied at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Students League in New York. He then traveled to Paris where he developed his graphic technique.The artist exhibited in Paris in the Salon d’Automne of 1907 and during WWI, served as a war correspondent, furnishing illustrations for the war effort.

Hornby’s style and technique lie within the tradition of Whistler, Haden, and French leaders of the etching revival. The artist printed all of his own etchings, experimenting with the subtleties of plate tone as a means of enhancing mood in his images Most of his most influential etchings were produced during the first two decades of the twentieth century. In this work, Hornby enlists zoom perspective in this dramatic view of London Bridge. The bridge is occupied by a swarm of pedestrians on the flanks, near the balusters, and by a long line of horse-drawn double-decker omnibuses in the center, accurately conveying the hustle and bustle of the capital city.

In Collection(s)