Campbell Dodgson

A virtuoso of portraits and scenes of the working class with a sharp eye for depicting the truth of his subjects, William Strang (1859-1921) was a revered draughtsman and painter; however his most lucrative and productive mode of creation was printmaking, an integral part of his career throughout his lifetime. Critics such as Maurice Harold Grant noted Strang as a printmaker who was ‘keenly observant’ in all stages required of printmaking, particularly in his ability to transfer his immaculately drawn line into an equally impressive bitten plate.

Born in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1859 to working-class parents, Strang moved to London in 1875 at the age of 16. The following year he enrolled at the Slade School of Art, where he studied under the French Realist, Alphonse Legros. Strang excelled particularly in Legros’ recently introduced etching class, serving as Assistant Master in the class for two years after graduating. Strang’s style was heavily influenced by Legros; both artists having working-class backgrounds, leading to a strong undercurrent of social justice in many of Strang’s works. Early in his career Strang made many etchings of working class life in a realist manner, as well as works of allegory and delightfully macabre fantasy. An increase in requests for commissions after the mid-1890s meant that Strang focused more on portraiture and painting. However, he still continued to work as a printmaker throughout his career – becoming President of the International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers in 1918. A month before his death in 1921, Strang was elected an Engraver Member of the Royal Academy.

Strang is perhaps best known for his portraits of famous artistic and literary sitters such as author Rudyard Kipling, (Te Papa 1968-0001-43), and this portrait of art historian and curator Campbell Dodgson. While many of his portraits were commissioned, Strang’s artistic preoccupations did not lie with capturing the ‘beauty’ of the sitter. Instead, he picks out the most human traits of the individual, highlighting their personal curiosities and favouring honesty and psychological intensity over glamour and handsomeness. In this portrait Strang creates a delicate tonal variance through the fine etched lines to create a poignant likeness of Dodgson.

Campbell Dodgson (1867–1948) was an art historian and museum curator. He was the Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum from 1912-32, having joined the department in 1893. A contemporary of Strang, Dodgson was closely connected with the leading etching revivalists, and was an expert in German art. The canonical influence of German etchers such as Albrecht Dürer on the etching revival - in which Strang was a central figure - provides a fitting context to this portrait.

Sources:

Laurence Binyon, William Strang: Catalogue of his Etched Work (Glasgow: James MacLehose and Sons, 1906), pp. vii–xvii.

Maurice Harold Grant, A Dictionary of British Etchers (London: Rockliff, 1953), pp. 196-97.

National Galleries Scotland:
https://www.nationalgalleries.org/art-and-artists/artists/william-strang

Wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Strang

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator Historical International Art   January 2018