The Lifting Cloud
Sir Frank Short (1857-1945), The Lifting Cloud, mezzotint, 1901, signed in pencil lower right. Reference: Hardie 118. In good condition, slight light toning, remains of prior hinging verso, with margins, on an ivory wove paper, 6 x 9, the sheet 8 x 11 1/4 inches, archival matting with un-attached mylar hinging and acid free window mat.
A fine atmospheric impression.
Hardie describes the print in dramatic terms: Heavy clouds cast a shadow over an angry sea, with breakers showing flashes of white; the clouds lift to the right, where a labouring ship is seen; in the foreground a large boulder and a half-submerged anchor. Short based the print on a color sketch he made on Whitby Scaur.
Short was one of the most productive and eminent of the British Etchers; an artist whose influence as a teacher was profound, and who in addition to promoting the art of printmaking in general, revived the techniques of aquatint and mezzotint. The Lifting Cloud demonstrates his total mastery of the difficult and laborious mezzotint technique.