Frank Dadd
English, 1851 - 1929Untitled (Artist and Model), 1912
Not on view
Etching on paper
Dimensions9 9/16 × 16 13/16 in. (24.3 × 42.7 cm)
Image: 9 3/16 × 11 1/2 in. (23.3 × 29.2 cm)
Gift of Mr. Jack B. Pierson in memory of Mr. Robert Martin Purcell, 1992.19
Frank Dadd was a commercially successful artist who commanded high prices for his paintings. In this etching, an unidentified artist sits as he paints on a large canvas, while his interested colleagues watch him work. It is an interesting print in that two artists have signed their names at the bottom left and right in pencil. Charles Oliver Murray was known to copy prints from popular contemporary artists of his day, so it is possible that this is one of his copies after a painting or print originally created by Frank Dadd.
Frank Dadd was born on March 28, 1851 in London. He spent his childhood acquiring a knowledge of naval architecture which proved very useful later on when he painted river and coastal scenes. In 1871, he entered the Royal Academy. After graduation, Dadd found employment at John Greenaway Engraving. In 1897, Cecil Rhodes commissioned Frank Dadd to paint The Gallant Conduct of Lieutenant Fred Crewe, a depiction of an incident in the Matabele War.
Charles Oliver Murray was a British illustrator and etcher. He was a prolific and successful etcher, both copying the work of other painters and as an original artist. He studied at Edinburgh School of Design and the Royal Scottish Academy, winning the Keith prize and medals for anatomical studies. From 1872 to 1924, Murray was a frequent exhibitor at the Royal Academy, in London. His subject matter included landscape and genre scenes but he excelled as an interpreter of architecture.
