Etching. Image: 7" x 8". Matted with signature & estate stamp on mat. Lester G. Hornby (1882-1956) is one of the surprising number of early 20th century American artists who achieved great acclaim during their vital years and yet lived to see their works, during the ensuing decades, largely neglected. That condition is now being reversed for Hornby. During the past five years a catalogue of his prints has been published and a number of exhibitions of his work have been mounted. Georgetown Univ. exhibited, a complete set of his World War I etchings of 1918, recently. Hornby received his early training at the Rhode Island School of Design and the Art Students League in New York. He journeyed to Paris where he developed his technique at the major art academies. Hornby’s progress was rapid; he received his first international recognition in Paris in the prestigious Salon d’Automne of 1907. Completely captivated by Paris and the French countryside, Hornby spent most of his productive years in France, returning intermittently to America. In his latter years, he played an active role as teacher and artist in the Rockport art colony. Hornby’s style and technique lie within the Whistlerian tradition. Hornby printed all of his own etchings, experimenting with the subtleties of plate tone as a means of enhancing mood in his images. Several of his etchings are in color. Most of his etchings were produced during the first two decades of this century. Understandably, his dominant subject matter is Paris and the French countryside – typically incorporating a pronounced human element. Hornby’s works are well represented in major public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, Art Institute of Chicago, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Library of Congress, Corcoran, and the National Museum of American Art in Washington, Bibliotheque National in Paris, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Good

7 x 8 in

2 lb