Mortimer Menpes, “Dutch Eel Schuyts”, 1889

Mortimer Menpes (aka Mortimer Luddington Menpes) (1855–1938)

“Dutch Eel Schuyts”, 1889, plate 10 from the series of twelve plates, “The Grey River”, published in London by Seeley and Co. Ltd., in 1889 and printed by the artist in a limited edition of 230 impressions. Julie Robinson (2014) advises that “The Grey River” series represents “... views along the River Thames, spanning the area from Westminster to Greenwich” (p. 50). Gary Morgan (2012) notes that the series was exhibited at the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers (RE) exhibition, in London in 1890 and, interestingly, the portfolio of the twelve prints were originally sold for “5 guineas per set” (p. 212).

Etching with drypoint and plate-tone printed in brown ink on fine buff-coloured laid paper (with watermark), pencil-signed by the artist and also signed in the plate. A pencil line border has been drawn by a previous collector around the outer edge of the margin.

Size: (sheet) 16.4 x 20.3 cm; (plate) 10.7 x 14.9 cm.

Inscribed in plate: (lower left corner) “Menpes del. et imp.”

Inscribed in pencil below the platemark: (right) “Menpes imp.”

Lifetime impression of the only state.

Morgan 144 (Gary Morgan 2012, “The Etched Works of Mortimer Menpes [1855–1938]”, vol. 1 [“The Early Years, 1855–1900”], Adelaide, Stuart Galleries, p. 214, cat. no. 144).

Condition: a richly inked and sensitively wiped impression. Beyond two wormholes in the margin at right and a pencil line around the edges of the margin, the sheet is in an excellent condition.

I am selling this subtlety nuanced pencil-signed drypoint for AU$504 in total (currently US$348.27/EUR313.23/GBP260.88 at the time of posting this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$504) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this small gem of a sensitively wiped drypoint and etching—mindful that Menpes explained in 1891 that he sought “to get the tone of my proofs as close to the tone of ivory as possibly” (Morgan [2012], vol. 1., p. 25)—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Mortimer Menpes’ etching with drypoint, “Limehouse”, c.1886–89

Mortimer Menpes (aka Mortimer Luddington Menpes) (1855–1938)

“Limehouse”, c.1886–89, plate 8 from the series of twelve plates, “The Grey River”, published in London by Seeley and Co. Ltd., in 1889 and printed by the artist in a limited edition of 230 impressions. Julie Robinson (2014) advises that “The Grey River” series “... represent views along the River Thames, spanning the area from Westminster to Greenwich” (p. 50). Gary Morgan (2012) notes that the series were exhibited at the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and Engravers (RE) exhibition, in London in 1890 and, interestingly, the portfolio of the twelve prints were originally sold for “5 guineas per set” (p. 212).

Etching with drypoint and plate-tone printed in brown ink on fine buff-coloured laid paper (with watermark), pencil-signed by the artist and also signed in the plate.

Size: (sheet) 16.2 x 20.2 cm; (plate) 10.6 x 14.8 cm.

Inscribed in plate:(lower right) “Menpes del. et imp.”

Inscribed in pencil below the platemark: (right) “Menpes imp.”

Lifetime impression of the only state.

Morgan 142 (Gary Morgan 2012, “The Etched Works of Mortimer Menpes [1855–1938]”, vol. 1 [“The Early Years, 1855–1900”], Adelaide, Stuart Galleries, p. 212, cat. no. 142.

See also Julie Robinson 2014, “The World of Mortimer Menpes: Painter Etcher, Raconteur”, Adelaide, Art Gallery of South Australia, p. 50.

Condition: a richly inked and sensitively wiped impression, hinged within an ivory window-mount. Beyond two wormholes in the margin at right and a pencil line around the edges of the margin, the sheet is in an excellent condition.

I am selling this subtlety nuanced pencil-signed drypoint for AU$504 in total (currently US$336.87/EUR304.80/GBP268.31 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this small gem of finely worked drypoint and etched lines—mindful that Menpes had explained in 1891 that he sought “to get the tone of my proofs as close to the tone of ivory as possibly” (Morgan [2012], vol. 1., p. 25)—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold

Mortimer Menpes’ drypoint, “Musée de Cluny”, c.1908

Mortimer Menpes (aka Mortimer Luddington Menpes) (1855–1938)

“Musée de Cluny” (title as first exhibited), 1907–08, showing the “façade of the Cluny Museum in Paris … from the Cluny Gardens” (Morgan [2012] p. 160) printed by the artist in an edition of 50 impressions and signed in pencil below the platemark at lower right, “Mortimer Menpes imp”, and with Menpes’ inventory number inscribed in pencil at lower left corner, “131”.

Drypoint with surface tone on buff-coloured wove (Japan?) paper. Note that Morgan (2012) advises: “All known impressions on antique laid paper” (p. 160); nevertheless, I can see no chain-lines of laid paper in the sheet. The sheet has restorations and has been backed with a support sheet providing wider margins.

Size: (irregularly cut sheet) 34.3 x 47 cm; (plate) 30.3 x 41 cm.

Lifetime impression of the only state.

Morgan 335 (Gary Morgan 2012, “The Etched Works of Mortimer Menpes [1855–1938]”, vol. 2 [“Etchings, 1901–1913”], Adelaide, Stuart Galleries, p. 160, cat. no. 335 [Menpes’ inventory number: 131).

Condition: a richly inked and skilfully wiped impression, laid upon an archival support sheet of millennium quality washi paper. There is a restored tear in the upper left and the upper-left corner of the margin has been restored along with other fractures in the margin and there is a thumbprint (of the artist?) in the lower left corner.

I am selling this magnificent, pencil-signed drypoint that is one of Menpes’ largest prints and very rare—only 50 impressions were made—for AU$604 (currently US$403.71/EUR365.28/GBP321.55 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world (but not, of course, any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries).

If you are interested in purchasing this major drypoint showing Menpes’ admiration for his friend, James McNeill Whistler, in the insightful wiping of a plate to add drama and mood/atmosphere—note that this print was executed only four years before Menpes wrote his book “Whistler as I knew him” (London 1904)—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.

This print has been sold