Admiral Sir Ernle Chatfield, British Navy

Art Historical Context

This drypoint portrait by Walter Tittle presents Admiral Sir Ernle Chatfield, a distinguished officer in the British Navy, rendered in 1921. Measuring 12 by 10 inches on the plate, the work is executed in black ink and belongs to the National Gallery of Art’s prints collection, where it was donated by the artist’s wife, Mrs. Walter Tittle. Created in the years following the First World War, the image captures a naval leader at a moment when maritime power and strategy remained central to international affairs. Drypoint, the technique employed here, involves scratching directly into a metal plate with a sharp tool; the raised burr along each line holds ink to produce soft, velvety tones that lend portraits a sense of immediacy and depth. Tittle’s choice of medium suits the formal yet personal character of the subject, allowing fine details of uniform and expression to emerge with subtle richness. Now preserved for museum visitors, the print offers a tangible connection to early-twentieth-century printmaking practices and the individuals who shaped naval history during that era.

About the Artist

Walter Tittle · 1883–1966

Walter Tittle was an American illustrator, portraitist, and printmaker who built a distinguished career in the early decades of the twentieth century, working across the overlapping worlds of magazine illustration, literary portraiture, and fine art printmaking. Born in Springfield, Ohio, he studied at the Art Students League of New York, an institution that provided rigorous training in drawing a...