Oil on panel
Probably United States, 1897
Harry Siddons Mowbray (1858-1928) – US-American painter
Signed and dated lower left, ‘H. S. Mowbray ‘97’
Decorative frame
Dimensions: 27 x 34.5 cm
Good condition
Provenance: Private collection, England
Mowbrays’s paintings, executed with the fineness of the old masters, are becoming increasingly popular. The painting ‘Studio Lunch’ of a similar size was sold in 2007 for about €178,000 at an international auction

The present genre painting entitled ‘The Aquafortists’ was painted in 1897 by Harry Siddons Mowbray. It depicts three engravers in a furnished interior. The figures are elegantly dressed in the Dutch style of the early 17th century. Highly focused and with seriousness, they accomplish their work. A seated man engraves a plate with an etching needle. In the left background, another man cleans or etches a further plate. The present intimate insight into the art of etching offers a great wealth of detail and a very fine brush stroke.



The painting is signed and dated lower left, ‘H. S. Mowbray '97. On the back, there are several old exhibitions stamps. The painting is in good overall condition with slight abrasion, craquelure and blemishes to the edges due to framing. In the upper left corner is visible a small color loss. Inspection under UV light reveals minor areas of retouching, mainly to the clothing and the right eye of the standing figure. The decorative frame shows slight wear consistent with age and use. The overall dimensions, framed, are 36 x 44.5 cm. The panel measures 27 x 34.5 cm.

Harry Siddons Mowbray (1858-1928)

After Mowbray had spent a part of his childhood in North Adams, Massachusetts, he went to Paris in 1879, and entered the studio of Leon Bonnat. From the 1880s, he was primarily active in Washington and New York. In 1886, he became a member of the Society of American Artists, and in 1891 of the National Academy of Design. Mowbray is primarily recorded for his decorative ceiling and wall paintings in New York. In 1903, he was appointed director of the American Academy in Rome. Today, some of his works are on display in major US-American museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington DC and the Museum of the National Academy of Design in New York City.

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