Drawing from Life, from "Illustrated London News"

Joseph Henderson|William Hollidge

March 26, 1870 · Wood engraving · Drawings and Prints

In a humble Scottish interior, a boy just arrived home from school, has thrown off his coat and sketches a sleeping cat on his slate. The image suggests that his early passion may one day drive a mature artist and echoes incidents from the early lives of famous artists—Vasari for example recorded that the Florentine painter Cimabue discovered Giotto as a shepherd boy sketching his flock on a rock, then took him on as an apprentice. Published in the "Illustrated London News" in 1870, this wood engraving was designed by Henderson who lived and worked in Scotland, became president of the Glasgow Arts Club and exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts. The engraver Hollidge first worked for London periodicals, then went to Paris in 1871 and engraved for "L'Univers Illustré."

Artist

Joseph Henderson|William Hollidge

Date

March 26, 1870

Medium

Wood engraving

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Gift of Donato Esposito, 2015