Sir Alfred East was an English born painter who trained at Glasgow School of Art.
His romantic landscapes show the influence of the Barbizon school. In 1906 he was elected President of the Royal Society of British Artists, a position he held until his death. He was awarded a Knighthood in 1910 by King Edward VII.
He was one of the earliest members of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers.
His landscapes prints show the influence of the Barbizon School of Artists, in particular, the work of Corot and Daubigny. They are often dark and heavily bitten printed works and are there is a highly atmospheric feel to them.
The majority of his prints were destroyed in a bonfire soon after his death - and as a result, etched works by him are now very rare. Few of this printed works were released in published editions and indeed very few of his proofs are signed in pencil. His prints often feature etching, aquatint and drypoint and are highly accomplished - today they are relatively hard to find in print collections due to the extreme rarity of them.
This is a very fine example of a dark and gloomy etching enlivened with broad aquatint tones by East. It is not only signed by in the pencil, lower right - but also inscribed with the title.
It is an illustration which was planned to have been included in a publication of 1906 entitled "The Acorn".
The aquatint print is used to great effect showing a couple walking through the beautiful gardens of the Villa d'Este at Tivoli near Rome. The figures are framed with a boulevard of tall trees to the left and right and in the distance, the sun is setting and it is dusk. The light casts dark shadows and contrasts with the bright sky in the distance. This type of gleaming light was very popular with East in his oil paintings.
Dimensions: Image size 17 x 12.5 cm. Frame size: 36 x 29 cm
It is in excellent condition with no issues, mounted and framed, as photographed.
Please note: The price quoted here is from the artwork only.
The frame comes free with this artwork. Any damage in transit to the frame / mount / picture glass will not be subject to any refunds, discounts or re-framing costs from us.
East's works remain rare - and there are only a few impressions by him in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum and some in the British Museum, London.
The British Museum has an impression of this print in its collection which was bequeathed to the Museum in 1949 by the celebrated print connoisseur and collector, Campbell Dodgson.
This is probably an item for a more specialist British print collector or a collector of works by East.
Given these are now quite rare works - and the only other impression of this interesting print that I can find is in the BM - then my asking price is certainly a fair one.
HAPPY TO SEND INTERNATIONALLY, PLEASE ASK FOR A POSTAGE QUOTE OUTSIDE OF THE UK.