Category
Print-MultipleMedium
EngravingType of Artwork
Multiple ( "2nd trial state", outside edition of 100)Signature
Hand signedSize of the artwork
13.5 x 10.45 in(34.29 x 26.54 cm)
Condition
excellentPublisher
artistCatalogue raisonné reference
Dodgson 80, state proofArtwork description
Robert Sargent AUSTIN
(1895-1973)
Alice Lush(1928)
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This engraving is pencil signed and dated by the artist, bottom center; initialed in the plate in the lower center. The artist pencil annotated it "2nd trial state", a proof outside the published edition of 78. It was printed by the artist on an antique-white laid paper with a partial jester watermark. It is the second trial state of four (ii/iv).
Austin's engraving line is often compared to the old masters. Campbell Dodgson, who compiled the standard reference work on Austins' work, compared his work to that of Durer, noting that Austin had 'more than a touch of that master in him'. This is a sensitive portrait by Austin of a woman named "Alice Lush" who might have been an English nurse.
While emphasizing the face, right arm and hands Austin left a thin film of ink on the plate to surround the subject with a subtle, green-gray background, softening the contrast of the engraving. The final state has lines added to the yoke of the uniform.