Title
Portrait of James Smillie
Artist
Year
1901
Technique
etching and aquatint, printed chine colle
Image Size
6 7/8 x 5" platemark
Signature
artist's monogram within image, lower right
Edition Size
proof, from an unstated edition
Annotations
dated and annotated in the plate, lower right: "aqua-fortis, Ap. 1901"; annotated within plate, upper right: "Quebec 1825"; pencil, lowert right margin: "Touched."
Reference
W95
Paper
light ivory china paper mounted on heavy antique white wove
State
artist's proof before trimming of the plate
Publisher
unpublished
Inventory ID
BC009
Price
SOLD
Description
A portrait of the artist's father, James (1807-1885), who was himself a self-taught engraver and silversmith who would eventually train his son. According to Witthoft: "On April 9, 1901, Millie took a miniature portrait out of his father's scrapbook, "In Memoriam," a collection of drawings, prints, and memorabilia keyed to his father's unpublished autobiography, "A Pilgrimage". ...The portrait [after Edward Heaton], in watercolor, dates to James Smillie's [senior] early days. The family had emigrated from Scotland to Quebec in 1821. Smillie is shown at the age of 18, when he first began to work as a largely self-taught engraver."