Nurse and Child (or Virgin and Child) – 1st State Proof
Kenneth Hayes Miller (1876-1952), Nurse and Child (or Virgin and Child), etching, c.1928, signed in pencil lower right, titled Virgin and Child, signed, priced ($25) and addressed by the artist verso (Hayes Miller, 6 E. 14th Street, New York). Reference: Associated American Artists 25. A proof impression of presumably the first state (of 2?), in generally good condition but somewhat soiled in the margins, remains of prior hinging verso, some grease stains in margin and matrix bottom right and verso, creases in matrix (all as befitting a proof impression). On a heavy wove paper, 6 7/8 x 5, the sheet 8 x 6 inches.
A fine strong impression, with plate tone.
This is a first or early state, before lines were added to the pillow at the left and elsewhere.
Hayes Miller studied at the Art Students League and the New York School of Art, teaching at the latter for 12 years and the former for 38 years. His students at the League included Isabel Bishop, Edward Hopper, Reginald Marsh, and Yasuo Kuniyoshi. He loved printmaking, and studied and emulated the old masters including Durer and Rembrandt, Callot and Meryon. He exhibited at the famous Armory Show in 1913, and his paintings and prints were shown widely throughout his life; his work is represented at the Whitney, MOMA, Brooklyn and Met in New York, and other museums throughout the US.
Detail