A Suffolk bridge

Born in London into a family with strong artistic connections, Martin Hardie (1875-1952) practised art throughout his youth and was well educated, reading classics at Trinity College, Cambridge. However, it was on his appointment as second-in-command of the newly-formed Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design at the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, that he determined to acquire a working knowledge of the techniques of printmaking.  Later, in 1921, he would be promoted to Keeper of Prints and Drawings. Fortunately for Hardie, the Royal College of Art was housed in part of the museum buildings at the time. Consequently, he was able to attend the etching classes of Sir Frank Short, who took him in as his protégé. Consequently Hardie came into contact with almost all of the leading printmakers and printers of the time. By 1908 he had become an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers and by 1920 he was both a Fellow and Honorary Secretary of the Society and of the Print Collectors' Club.

Aside from his considerable output as an etcher and watercolourist, Hardie was an important writer and cataloguer on the prints of the British Etching Revival, producing the leading catalogues on the works of Sir Frank Short, James McBey and others, as well as leading the revival of interest in the work of the 19th century Romantic artist, Samuel Palmer. Hardie's three-volume Watercolour Painting in Britain was published after his death between 1966 and 1968. James Laver, who worked under Hardie at the V & A, called him 'the most considerate of chiefs, the most helpful of guides, the most delightful of friends' and said 'his is a refined and delicate talent founded upon good draftsmanship and an exquisite sense of atmosphere'

A Suffolk bridge is evidently a rare Hardie drypoint; there are currently no other records of its existence in public collections. It depicts in the foreground well-established trees and an old, probably 18th century bridge; the adult figure crossing it wears a conical brimmed hat that makes him look distinctly 'old world' too. Behind him we see gently sloping countryside, and in the distance there is the local village church with a gothic, castellated tower. The 'Suffolk' element is only likely to be identified by an architectural historian at very best; but East Anglia was a favourite locale of Hardie and is represented in A Suffolk farm (1968-0001-25) and The bridge, Blakeney (1969-0006-7).

See:

Campbell Fine Art, 'Martin Hardie', http://www.campbell-fine-art.com/artists.php?id=218 

Tonbridge History, 'Martin Hardie', http://www.tonbridgehistory.org.uk/people/martin-hardie.htm

Dr Mark Stocker   Curator, Historical International Art   June 2018