This is a really sweet drypoint etching showing a group of naughty little children playing games on a harbour wall - they have found a steep sloping wall - which acts as a slide - and they are sliding down it with total abandon and lack of fear. There are some sails in the distance of boats moored in the harbour.
It is a more delicate composition by Soper - and the drypoint is lighter - concentrating more on intricate lines. She has not used many darker drypoint tones for shadows etc. It dates to around 1923.
The artist certainly captures all the excitement and sense of movement of the children as they hurl themselves down their makeshift slide.
The etching is by Eileen Soper (1905 - 1990) - who was famed for these delicate etchings showing scenes from childhood. She was an etcher and illustrator of children's and wildlife books.
She first exhibited two of her etchings at the Royal Academy in London at the age of 15 after she showed three prints at an exhibition organised by the International Society of Printmakers in California. She continued to produce around 180 etchings, mostly of children at play, into the early 1930s.
Soper also illustrated books for other writers, most notably for Enid Blyton on the Famous Five Books. Some of her illustrations of children and animals were used in a china series for children by Paragon China in the 1930s.
Her father was the celebrated printmaker George Soper - please see my other works by him in my Iconic Edinburgh online store.
This fine print by Eileen Soper is signed in the lower margin in pencil, as photographed.
It is one of a small selection of etchings by Eileen Soper in my online store. This is one of a wee set of four etchings which are all framed in a simple black frame. The frames are all the same size. with matching moulding.
The image measures: 11.5 x 17.2 cm. The frame size is 33 x 40 cm
This antique print is in nice clean condition and has a new frame and fresh acid-free cream-coloured window mount It is all ready to hang straight on your wall. Each etching has no condition problems - the woven paper sheets they have been printed on - are loose and have not been glued down onto an old backing board in the past.
A fair asking price fine drypoint by a popular artist. This is reflected in my pricing as well as it being so beautifully presented for sale.
There is an impression of this drypoint in the collection of the Art Institute Chicago.
Postage in the UK Only - Postage will be £10 for tracked postage with either Royal Mail or Parcelforce24. It will be applied to your order at the checkout.