?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,000 - $ 1,500
JAMES MCBEY The Bridge by Night.
Drypoint on light blue laid paper, 1926. 239x152 mm; 91/2x6 inches, full margins. Edition of 80. Signed and numbered "XX" in ink, lower margin. Pale time stain. A superb, luminous impression.
McBey's (1883-1959) admiration of Rembrandt's etchings can be seen in the 21 prints he etched during a trip to Holland early in his career in 1910. Several, including "The Mill, Zaandijk" (Hardie 72) and "Amsterdam from Ransdorp" (Hardie 74) appear to be pastiches directly from Rembrandt's prints. His imitation of Rembrandt continued throughout his career and in the current print, with its strong source of light at the center of the composition and heavy shading around the perimeter, he repeats Rembrandt's frequent use of bold chiaroscuro in etchings such as "The Adoration of the Shepherds: A Night Piece" (see lot 23), "The Raising of Lazarus: The Larger Plate" (lot 8) and "Faust" (see lot 35). Hardie 232.
