Harris Schrank Fine Prints

Felix Buhot (1847-1898), Westminster Bridge (or Westminster Clock Tower), c. 1882, etching, drypoint, roulette, burnishing; with the Buhot red monogram stamp (Lugt 977) bottom margin. Reference: Bourcard/Goodfriend 156, Bourcard’s 5th or 6th state (of 6); Goodfriend’s 6th or 7th state (of 8). In very good condition, slight signs of light toning or prior hinging, the full sheet with full margins; 11 1/8 x 15 5/8, the sheet 14 1/4 x 19 1/4 inches.

Provenance:

Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Flower

Collection of Alfred Barrion (with his stamp lower right corner recto, Lugt 76).  G. Alfred Barrion (1842-1903) was a noted collector, of whose collection Bourcard wrote:  “Ici toutes les épreuves sont de qualité absolument exceptionnelle, chose rare à rencontrer en province.”

A fine impression, printed in brownish/black ink on a greenish laid paper with a Fleur-de-Lys watermark.

This is of course one of Buhot’s great tour de force works, an extremely complex rendering of the entrance to the Westminster Bridge, with the view of the Westminster Clocktower in the distance. Surrounding the central composition are a walkway over the Thames at the right; a view of the Thames, St. Paul and various ships at night in full moon at the top; a dome and a man in silhouette carrying a torch, sketched in lightly at the left; and people walking toward a train station, an owl carrying a lantern, at the bottom margin. But the central composition, with a myriad of people and carriages (with their backs toward the viewer) remains the strong focus of the composition, one of Buhot’s most successful. In this impression the plate has been wiped only lightly, leaving a layering of plate tone.

Detail