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Opening the Fold

Etching
1880 (etched), 1926(?) (printed)
Artist/Maker
Palmer, Samuel (etcher)
Place of origin
England (etched)
England (printed)

Etching of a pastoral scene: a shepherd pipes his sheep out of the fold as the sun rises over a picturesque landscape.

Object details

Categories
Prints
Illustration
Printmaking Techniques
Object type
Etching
Titles
  • Opening the Fold (assigned by artist)
  • Early Morning (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Etching
Watercolour
Paper
Etching
Brief description
'Opening the Fold', a pastoral scene. Etching print (final state) by Samuel Palmer, England, 1880. Printed ca.1926.
Physical description
Etching of a pastoral scene: a shepherd pipes his sheep out of the fold as the sun rises over a picturesque landscape.
Dimensions
  • Image height: 15.1cm
  • Image width: 21.4cm
Taken from the dimensions given in the Victoria and Albert Museum Catalogue of the Prints, Drawings, Paintings & Photographs Collections and converted from inches to centimetres.
Production typeLimited edition
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'F. S. - M.H. - F. L.G.' (Signed in pencil.)
  • A small etched triangle in the lower margin on the left, to identify the final printing.
Credit line
Presented by A. H. Palmer, Esq.
Object history
This design illustrates some lines in 'An English Version of the Eclogues of Virgil', by Samuel Palmer, 1883.
Final state. One of 50 impressions, on specially chosen old paper, printed under the supervision of Sir Frank Short, R.A., P.R.E., R.I., Martin Hardie, R.I., R.E., and F. L. Griggs, A.R.A., R.E., before the cancelling of the plate. A small etched triangle has been added in the lower margin on the left, to identify the final printing. Plate destroyed.
Production
Attribution note: Final State
Subjects depicted
Pastoral
Shepherds
Sheep
Landscape
Literary referenceIllustration of the artist's own translation of the 'Eclogues of Virgil' (Eclogue VIII).
Associated objects
Bibliographic references
  • Catalogue of an exhibition of drawings, etchings & woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other disciples of William Blake. London, Pub. under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926 no.227
  • Catalogue of an Exhibition of Drawings, Etchings & Woodcuts by Samuel Palmer and other Disciples of William Blake October 20 - December 31, 1926. London : Published under the authority of the Board of Education, 1926. Publication No. 178 E.I.D. pp.84-87.
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1926, London: Board of Education, 1927.
Collection
Prints, Drawings & Paintings Collection
Accession number
E.1466-1926

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O761811/opening-the-fold-etching-palmer-samuel/
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