Hampstead Heath, from Old English Masters
1901, printed 1902
Medium
Wood engraving on chine paper
Dimensions
Sheet: 43.5 × 34.5 cm (17 3/16 × 13 5/8 in.)
Classification
wood engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
77352
Art Historical Context
Timothy Cole's *Hampstead Heath, Old English Masters* (1901, printed 2) is a masterful engraving on delicate chine paper, measuring 43.5 × 34.5 cm. Housed in the Art Institute of Chicago's Prints Drawings department, this print exemplifies Cole's extraordinary skill as an American wood engraver (1852–1931), renowned for translating the intricate details of Old Master paintings into the precise medium of wood engraving. By incising fine lines into the end-grain of boxwood blocks, engravers like Cole could replicate textures, light, and depth with remarkable fidelity, bridging the gap between pa...
About the Artist
Timothy Cole
Timothy Cole (1852–1931) was one of the most celebrated wood engravers of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, renowned for his extraordinary ability to translate the tonal richness of Old Master paintings into the exacting medium of engraved wood. Born in London, England, Cole emigrated with his family to the United States in 1858. He began his career as a wood engraver in Chicago, but t...