The Evening Lamp

Julian Alden Weir

ca. 1890 · Etching and drypoint; fourth state of five · Drawings and Prints

Weir admired the expressive potential of etching long before he attempted the technique: like his father before him, Weir collected old master prints, and particularly admired those of Rembrandt. Weir may well have had the Dutch artist's dark tonalities in mind when he etched this view of a woman reading by the lamplight, a cat outstretched at her feet. The compelling effects were hard-won: the artist recorded that "working by night" on this etching "injured my eyes."

Artist

Julian Alden Weir

Date

ca. 1890

Medium

Etching and drypoint; fourth state of five

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Rogers Fund, 1918