A Wheel of Three Generations in 1884

This etching was published in Selected Etchings by American Artists, Philadelphia, 1884, and expresses the late-nineteenth century nostalgia for a quickly-fading rural way of life. Bacher joined a colony of American painters established by Frank Duveneck in Polling, Bavaria. In 1880, the “Duveneck boys,” a group which also included John White Alexander, Robert Frederick Blum, Charles Abel Corwin, and George Edward Hopkins, among others, traveled to Venice where they formed friendships with James Whistler and Henry James.

Bacher, who collected Rembrandt etchings, was himself a skilled etcher. He became an apprentice and collaborator with Whistler, and the artist described him as “one of his favorite pupils.” Whistler, who was having difficulties with equipment in Venice, made use of Bacher's printer's ink and printing press from June to August 1880. Bacher began to collect Whistler’s etchings and Bacher's etchings show the influence of both Whistler and Duveneck.