An old etching? or pen and ink sketch?

An A H Findlay print of King Richard's Bridge in Leicester near the spot where the body 0f Richard III was allegedly thrown into the river after the battle of Bosworth. Tradition also has it that the monks at Greyfriars, nearby, rescued the body and buried it secretly.

Richard was much maligned by Shakespeare (writing for a Tudor king) - he didn't have a hump back and had actually nothing to gain by murdering the princes in the tower as his regentship would end with their deaths. Henry Tudor (the victor) did stand to gain and of course victors write the history don't they?

My mother has been having a sort out and found an envelope with quite a few prints of Leicester scenes by A H Findlay. and was going to throw them out - so I rescued them! I can't find any information online on the artist.

I've put a slide show of some of the waterways project work on our group watermarks blog if anyone would like to take a look. I've put the aerial views in alongside the sketches so that you can see the context.

Comments

Robyn Sinclair said…
Looks like a pen and ink sketch to me, Vivien because of the marks and also because of the signature on the drawing. Lovely. I'm so glad you were able to rescue it. Makes me want to get out my pen and ink.

I'm loving the Waterways project to date, looking forward to enjoying the slideshow at leisure in the morning.
5:52 pm
vivien said…
I agree Robyn, I think pen and ink too

I have to get out and get some more work done on the waterways project - Spring is coming though with nice light and fresh leaves :>)
6:45 pm
Billie Crain said…
it looks like a pen and ink to me too, Vivien. thank heavens you were able to save this. btw, the link you left to 'watermarks blog' doesn't work.
11:45 pm
Teresa Mallen said…
Oh I do love a nice pen and ink and this one is lovely. Thanks for sharing!
2:49 am
harry bell said…
The absence of a plate mark and the signature over the drawing suggest pen and ink to me, too. There are four watercolours of English cathedrals by A H Findlay in Cragside Hall in Northumberland, which would point to him having been Victorian, but that's the sum total of my knowledge of this artist.
9:24 am
vivien said…
thanks Billie - I'll have to go and fix that

Thanks Harry - it's nice to have some further information

Hi Teresa :>) When I look at pen and ink I wonder why I don't do more - though my style would be nothing like this of course!
12:00 pm
Unknown said…
Factual stuff...

1] the signature on the image seems to say 'Findley'. Googling for that throws up Albert Henry Findley, who did lots of watercolours and drawings of English cathedral towns, and a nice watercolour of Amiens looking pretty much as it does today.

2] the double-span version of West Bridge was built in 1891, so the work must be subsequent to that.

DJ
10:01 pm
vivien said…
Thank you DeeJay - King Richard was thrown off an older bridge at the spot :>) actually yes, this one is a typical Victorian bridge. It was lovely to have more info on the artist - your research was more efficient than mine!
9:28 am
Unknown said…
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
11:03 am
vivien said…
helen said

Hi AH Findley was my great grandfather he died when i was only 3 years old. (1880 - 1975). he lived in leicester all his life and painted right up untill his sight failed and he could only see a blur....My mother and I try to collect as many of his scetches as possible to try and keep them in the family.. It work was incredibly detailed and precise, he once appied to the royal accademy but his work was dismissed as being to photographic!!! idiots... he painted many many sceans of leicester its self , but my favourites are his view of the blue bell woods and some increadibly rair sea scapes

she's asked me to delete the comment as she had included her email address and was getting a lot of spam - so I'm keeping her comment, which was interesting
11:55 am
Anonymous said…
I am lucky enough to own 4 paintings by A.H.Findley. Two are scenes in Leicester and two are of the bluebell woods. I love them.
10:16 am
vivien said…
that's great :>)
2:48 pm
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