Prints and Principles

Most of the recent posts give details about individual prints and earlier posts discuss some of the subtle principles guiding artists in making images meaningful and memorable. For prints that are unsold, click "Items still available for sale" below. All other prints are no longer available. My contact email is oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com and my Instagram username is @printsandprinciples. I have created a separate blog to show my own work: https://printsandprinciplesjamesbrown.blogspot.com

Thursday, 30 April 2026

Charles Waltner, “Portrait of Sir John Everett Millais”, 1881, after Millais’ self-portrait

Charles Waltner (1846–1925)

“Portrait of Sir John Everett Millais”, 1881

Technical Details & Condition:

Etching with plate tone on fine laid papier Japon. This is a rare artist’s proof impression, signed in pencil by Charles Waltner in the lower right margin. It bears the oval blindstamp of The British and Foreign Artists' Association (active 1880–1881) in the lower left, featuring the central initials “MN,” used as a certification mark to authenticate and limit proof impressions—see The Fine Art Trade Guild explanation: https://www.fineart.co.uk/buying/stamp_of_authenticity.aspx.

This etching is based on the 1879 self-portrait by Sir John Everett Millais (1829–1896), now housed in the Uffizi Gallery, Florence (see https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Millais_-_Self-Portrait.jpg). Millais was a founding member of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and later served as President of the Royal Academy of Arts.

Note that this image was later reproduced as a collotype with the title “John Everett Millais. R A” and the production detail “ETCHED BY CH. WALTNER” at lower right; see the collotype at the National Portrait Gallery (London): https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw142162/Sir-John-Everett-Millais-1st-Bt.

Dimensions:

• Sheet: 43.2 x 28.7 cm
• Platemark: 31.8 x 22.7 cm
• Image borderline: 26.7 x 19.8 cm

In-Plate Lettering:

• Upper left: “Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1881 by Knoedler & C^o in the Office of the Librarian of Congress at Washington.”
• Upper right: “Published London January 1^st 1881 by The British & Foreign Artists Association”
• Lower left: “J. E. Millais R. A.”
• Lower right: “'Waltner sc.”

References:

• Beraldi 81 (Henri Beraldi, Les Graveurs du XIX^e Siècle: SAINT-MARCEL- ZWINGER, 1892, vol. XII, Paris, Librairie L. Conquet, p. 263, cat. no. 81)
• British Museum: https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1912-1219-1

Price & Shipping:

AU$290 (approx. US$207.72 / €177.62 / £153.71), including worldwide express shipping. Import duties and taxes (if any) are the buyer’s responsibility.

To acquire this rare, pencil-signed artist’s proof etching of John Everett Millais by Charles Waltner, please contact me at oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com. I will gladly provide a secure PayPal invoice for a smooth transaction.