Ye Compleat Angler

Sir Francis Seymour Haden's artistic career is rather remarkable, given the fact that he was an ‘amateur.’ A leading surgeon of obstetrics, he was educated at Derby School, Christ's Hospital and University College London. He then completed his medical education at the Sorbonne, Paris, and in Grenoble. An avid collector of etchings, Seymour Haden created slightly over 250 original etchings, the majority being landscapes. He achieved an international fame in this area and his landscape compositions are distinguished by his mastery of foliage, water, and atmospheric effects. Haden, who served as president of the Society of Painter-Etchers, was elected a member of the Athenaeum (1891) and was knighted in 1894.

With its bold lines and brilliant tones, this etching is an outstanding example of Seymour Haden's late style. It was first published by Hogarth and Sons, London, in 1878. Two years later P. G. Hamerton requested the plate for publication in Etching and Etchers.