My (humble) ART Collection (Selected)
An exquisite subtle mezzotint by Eli Marsden Wilson, 1926.
Wilson was born in the Yorkshire town of Ossett. He studied at Wakefield School of Art, and the Royal College of Art, London under the tutelage of legendary master etcher Sir Frank Short.
Wilson was a Quaker and vegetarian, he was imprisoned for two years during the Great War as a conscientious objector. He married Hilda Mary Pemberton 1871-1957, a notable printmaker in her own right. They lived together in Berkshire.
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. and the Princeton University Library
both hold an impression of this work.
Note: In November 2012 three of Wilson's etchings were shown on the BBC program 'Antiques Roadshow', by descendants of one of the artist's sisters. Two of the etchings shown on the program were images of the interior of Wilson's cell during his imprisonment as an absolutist conscientious objector during and after World War I. The third image was a print of the miniature etching used to decorate Queen Mary's dolls' house in 1922. The dolls' house resides now at Windsor Castle.
Provenance: Per info on back of the archival mat, this print was handled by N.W. Lott & H.J. Gerrish, located on Duke St., in London. In pencil; No. 42, GILT is indicated.