At about the time he made this print of Byland Abbey in Yorkshire, the British artist John Piper (1903-1992) was moving away from experiments with modernism and abstraction and into what became virtually an obsession with architecture and antiquarianism. Buildings became characteristic subject-matter, frequently depicted in dramatic and theatrical settings. Printmaking also became more important to him from this time on, and in this work he makes very good use of the painterly qualities of aquatint, which is capable of producing a wide range of tones.