Samuel Colman, “Amalfi, Italy”, 1880

Samuel Colman (1832–1920)—American painter (linked with the Hudson River School) and printmaker

“Amalfi, Italy”, 1880, an etching possibly related to the sketchbook page, “Sketches from Amalfi, Italy”, featured by OMNIA (Smithsonian Design Museum) showing a very similar view in reverse: https://www.omnia.ie/index.php?navigation_function=2&navigation_item=190bbc7bf584e7f4da198b16c932b22a&repid=2.

Etching with plate tone printed in a warm black ink on laid paper.

Size: (sheet) 29.2 x 22 cm; (platemark) 16.8 x 11 cm; (image borderline) 14.8 x 9.6 cm.

Inscribed in plate with the artist’s monogram (lower-left corner) “[ligature initials] SC”.

See the brief description of this print offered by the National Gallery of Art (Washington DC): https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.182500.html.

Interestingly, Sylvester Rosa Koehler (1837–1900)—the first curator of prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston—in his 1880 review of a group of nine prints by Colman (including this etching) proposes: “It may unhesitatingly be affirmed that Mr. Colman’s plates are among the most interesting of the works so far produced by the etchers of America” (“The American Art Review, 1880”, Vol 1, pp. 387–88 [https://archive.org/details/sim_american-art-review_1880_1/page/n522/mode/1up]).

Condition: a richly inked and well-printed (near faultless) impression. The sheet is in a near pristine condition with no tears, holes, folds, abrasions, stains or signs of handling.

I am selling this insightfully composed etching by an artist who was so concerned about his compositions that I understand he destroyed most of his earlier plates and only kept a select few that he considered were his best which he monogrammed with his interlaced initials, “SC”—as shown here in the lower-left corner of the image—for the total cost of AU$241 (currently US$163.86/EUR149.34/GBP124.80 at the time of posting this listing) including Express Mail (EMS) postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries. Note that payment is in Australian dollars (AU$241) as this is my currency.

If you are interested in purchasing this very rare etching—please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.