Invitation with vignette from "The First Born" (with text)

Sir Hubert von Herkomer

1887 · Etching · Drawings and Prints

Herkomer made this etching to invite friends, and potential patrons, to view his recently finished paintings on April 1–2, 1887 at 22B Ebury Street, his London studio. The private view on Saturday April 2, 1887 was attended by Edward, Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) and Alexandra, Princess of Wales (later Queen Alexandra). The figures of a young carpenter with his wife and baby, used to frame the text here, derive from Herkomer's painting "The First Born," which he exhibited shortly afterward at the Royal Academy. The imagery demonstrates sympathy for working men and women while the print sheds light on ways that Victorian artists promoted their work.

Artist

Sir Hubert von Herkomer

Date

1887

Medium

Etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, Frances and Claude Logan Fund and Various Donors, 2019