Studio: international art (86.1923)

MR. GEORGE BELCHER’S PORTRAIT PRINTS

serve as love gifts from proud godfathers
and godmothers, and as pledges of faith
between two lovers. Each and every family
event suffices for their appearance, a birth,
betrothal, wedding, birthday, while Easter,
Whitsuntide, All Souls, All Saints and
Christmas are all occasions for the obser-
vance of customs associated with them, 0

MR. GEORGE BELCHER’S POR-
TRAIT PRINTS, 0000

WHEN Mr. George Belcher com-
menced etcher—to borrow a John-
sonian phrase in keeping with the latest
manner of his prints—it was to the soft-
ground medium he was attracted, by its
affinity with the familiar charcoal line of
his inimitable drawings, that line so vivid
with character and essential humour. But
he soon realised that the etching medium
could help him to a pictorial manner other
than that with which he had won so wide
and genial a popularity. Yet no less indi-
vidual in conception, no less masterly in
their vitally graphic interpretation of
character and personality, are his later
etchings with the hard line wrought with
the needle on ordinary “ ground ” and
aquatint tones added for colour. The
latest of these are genuine colour-prints,
but Mr. Belcher's practice with the first
was to lay the tints by hand, after the
manner of the popular aquatints pub-
lished by Ackerman in the latter years of
the 18th century and the earlier of the 19th.
And it is the manner of the setting of these
old prints, with the lettering of the inscrip-
tion engraved on the plate, that Mr.
Belcher has borrowed with such amusing
effect, thus suggesting yet another link of
reminiscence with his 18th century pro-
totype, that delightful artist, Thomas
Rowlandson. One can imagine how that
virile and humorous interpreter of the
multifarious comedy of his own contem-
porary social life would have revelled in
these prints of Mr. Belcher's. He would
have hailed the types at once as familiars ;
for Mrs. Harris of Jollop Yard and A Lady
of Battersea are perennial Londoners, even
though they may change the locality of
their residence. In Rowlandson’s day or in
Belcher's, Mrs. Harris would bulk as
largely and be as raucously voluble, just as

the other “ lidy ” would shuffle as shabbily
along, hugging her chronic grievances
not too closely to prevent spasmodic
vocal leakage. It needed not the engraved
inscription “ Taken from life ” to assure
us that the artist had studied these women
in their habits as they lived. True, sensi-
tive and vital portraiture, too, Mr. Belcher
has achieved in his characteristic present-
ments of some of his fellow members of
the National Sporting Club and the spar-
ring heroes they delight to honour, and
very engaging prints they make. A typical
group of them is reproduced here—A
Monument in Art at the N.S.C., showing
us that masterly painter, James Pryde;
The Doctor ; Joseph Ivimey, handling his
baton as to the manner born ; The Wild
Irishman (Pat O’Keeffe), Bill Baxter and
Arthur Guttridge. 0 a 0 a
Malcolm C. Salaman.

“A LADY OF BATTERSEA”
BY GEORGE BELCHER
(Published by the Author at
6 William St., Knightsbridge)

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