Leicester House, London

Nicolai Hammer

Like many late nineteenth century Scandinavian printmakers, Nicolaj Hammer turned to London and Paris for further training and inspiration. Hammer studied in England with etcher - author William Palmer Robins who was quite familiar with the earlier work of American printmaker James Abbott McNeill Whistler.

Hammer pays an homage to Whistler in this 1924 etching "Leicester House, London." He concentrates on the facade of his subject and allows the adjoining buildings drift into obscurity, you know they are there, yet the details become irrelevant.

The building, the Leicester House was built in 1791 and is located at numbers 17 - 19 Lisle Street in London's West End district near Leicester Square and in London's Chinatown. The building is currently a restaurant.

A problem beginning etchers have is etching words on the plate, which has to be done in reverse so it prints readably. In this image Hammer includes five signs, incorporated into the composition and absolutely identifying the location of the subject.

This impression is from the collection of Danish critic and author Georg Brochner (1874-1933) who wrote on Scandinavian art for the British art magazine "The Studio" in the early 20th century. Brochner exposed many Scandinavian artists as to what was happening in London and Paris and, in turn, wrote about what was happening in the Scandinavian countries.