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An image of Self portrait by Arthur Boyd

Arthur Boyd

(Australia, England 24 Jul 1920–24 Apr 1999)

Title
Self portrait
Other titles:
Etching no. 31
Year
1962-1963
Media category
Print
Materials used
etching, printed in black ink on white wove paper
Edition
9/25
Dimensions

30.1 x 25.0cm platemark; 47.4 x 39.5cm sheet

Signature & date
Signed l.r., pencil "Arthur Boyd". Not dated.
Credit
Purchased 1963
Accession number
DA47.1963
Copyright
© Reproduced with permission of Bundanon Trust
Location
Not on display
Further information

Boyd's initial lessons in etching were with celebrated printmaker Jessie Trail at her Melbourne studio in the 1930s. However, it was not until his move to London in 1959 that he became absorbed with the expressive possibilities of printmaking, recognising this medium as indivisible from his work as a whole:
"I think it's a very good idea to be able to turn to a number of different techniques ... A new medium offers the artist a variety of keys; it allows him to re-state and sum-up without repeating himself."
- Arthur Boyd 1972

His first dry-point prints, including 'The birth of the Southern Cross' 1962-63, were made using a Stanley knife, scoring soft copper plates to create deep, richly-textured, etched lines, often overlaid with subtle areas of aquatint. Themes and images which were the mainstream of his paintings between 1941 and 1944 are reworked in etchings and lithographs made during 1962-63 and 1968-69.

These led to the publication of print sets where Boyd collaborated with historian T.S.R. Boase and poet Peter Porter over the ensuing two decades, exploring subjects which included 'St Francis of Assisi' 1964-65, 'Lysistrata' 1970, and 'Jonah' 1972-73, confirming his continuing passion for the ideas and literature of Europe.

Australian Art Department, AGNSW, 2000

Bibliography (9)

Lou Klepac (Australia; Croatia, b.1936) (Author), Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Bruce James (Australia) (Author), John McDonald (Australia, b.1961) (Author), Peter Pinson (Australia, b.1943) (Author), Gavin Fry (Author), Sasha Grishin AM (Australia) (Author), Deborah Hart (South Africa; United Kingdom; Australia, b.1959) (Author), Australian painters of the twentieth century, Roseville, 2000, 152 (illus.), 153.

'The legacy in Sydney Arthur Boyd' by Barry Pearce, pg. 18-20., Look Jul 1999, Jul 1999, 20.

Hendrik Kolenberg (Netherlands; Australia) (Author), Anne Ryan (Australia) (Author), Australian prints from the Gallery's collection, Sydney, 1998, 102 (illus.), 103. cat.no. 86

Barry Pearce (Australia) (Author), Arthur Boyd retrospective, Sydney, 1993, 8 (illus.). cat.no. 168

Imre von Maltzahn (Author), Arthur Boyd etchings and lithographs, London, 1971, (illus.). cat.no. 32; no edition number; not paginated

Franz Philipp (Austria; England, b.1914, d.1970) (Author), Arthur Boyd, London, 1967, 113 (illus.), 266. cat.no. 11.32; plate no. 116; not paginated

Art and Australia [series 5, vol. 1, no. 4] Feb 1964-Apr 1964, Feb 1964-Apr 1964, 234 (illus.).

1963 Acquisitions 1963, 1963, 36-7. cat.no. 54

Clune Galleries (Australia) (Author), Arthur Boyd: Recent paintings and etchings, Sydney, 1963. cat.no. 31; titled 'Etching'

Exhibition history (8)

Arthur Boyd: recent paintings and etchings (1963), Clune Galleries, 12 Jun 1963–28 Jun 1963.

Arthur Boyd: Recent paintings and etchings (1963), Clune Galleries, 12 Jun 1963–28 Jun 1963.

Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 15 Dec 1993–06 Mar 1994.

Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), National Gallery of Victoria [St Kilda Road], 30 Mar 1994–23 May 1994.

Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, 09 Jun 1994–21 Aug 1994.

Arthur Boyd retrospective (1993-1994), Art Gallery of Western Australia, 22 Sep 1994–20 Nov 1994.

Australian prints from the Gallery's collection (1998-1999), Art Gallery of New South Wales, 06 Nov 1998–07 Feb 1999.

Australian icons: twenty artists from the collection, Art Gallery of New South Wales, 04 Aug 2000–03 Dec 2000.