Theodore Casimir Roussel NEAC RBA ARE,
French/British 1847-1925-
Spring, 1906;
soft-ground etching, signed and inscribed in pencil, 6.7x19.5cm: Raphael T Roussel, British 1883-1967- Tug boat; hand-coloured lithograph, signed in pencil, signed within the plate, 9.5x13.8cm: British School, late 19th/early 20th century- The Great Artist, What’s the use of anything - nothing; black chalk, inscribed, 25x18cm: together with two sketchbooks, one drawing, and a small collection of further prints and reproductions relating to the Roussel family, (in one box) (ARR)
Provenance: the family of the artist
Note: The lead item in this lot is by the French painter and printmaker Theodore Casimir Roussel. Roussel did not have any formal artistic training, which can be seen to give his work a sense of freshness and originality. Roussel is, nevertheless, often described as receiving informal instruction from his close friend James McNeill Whistler, by whom he was introduced to the techniques involved in etching and drypoint. Roussel subsequently became a leading innovator in the field of colour etching in England.
These prints are therefore typical of the artist’s style, using the media of printing and drawing to depict intimate scenes of family life (including the artist’s son, Raphael Roussel, who would go on to become an artist in his own right). Roussel’s work was regularly exhibited at the Society of British Artists, the Royal Scottish Academy, the New English Art Club and the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers. He was also a founding member of the Allied Artists’ Association, established in 1908. A related example of this work can be found at British Museum, no.1919,1015.36.Please refer to department for condition report