Description
Westminster Abbey is a Christian cathedral and has been the coronation church for British monarchs since 1066. 3,300 important Britons from the arts, sciences, religion, and politics, including 17 monarchs, are buried there, or are memorialized in tablets, busts, statues, etc. Building construction began in 1245 under Henry III. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most important Gothic buildings in Britain.
Mortimer Menpes was an Australian-born British painter, printmaker, illustrator, and author. Born in Adelaide, Australia, where his parents had relocated from England, he studied at the Adelaide School of Design. His formal art training began in 1878 at the School of Art in London after his family had moved back to England. Menpes also studied with James McNeill Whistler, whom he met in 1880 and who taught him etching. He first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1880, and exhibited regularly there over the following 20 years. He became a major figure in the etching revival, producing more than 700 different etchings and drypoints that he usually printed himself. Menpes traveled widely in Europe, Asia, North Africa, and Mexico, during the early 20th century, publishing many illustrations in travel books. He was a member of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers, the Royal Society of British Artists, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours, and the Royal Institute of Oil Painters. His works are highly collectible as fine art etchings by an Australian artist.
Condition: Generally very good, recently professional cleaned and deacidified with light remaining over toning, wear, handling. Pale discoloration marks from tape from former mounting in side margins, now professionally removed and easily matted out. Margins slightly irregular, all ample for framing beyond platemark.
References:
Morgan, Gary, and Menpes, Mortimer. The Etched Works of Mortimer Menpes (1855-1938). Australia: Stuart Galleries, 2012. 347.
“Mortimer Menpes.” Wikipedia. 25 September 2023. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortimer_Menpes (15 January 2024).
“Westminster Abbey.” Westminster Abbey. 2024. https://www.westminster-abbey.org/history (25 January 2024).
