Night in Ely Cathedral
1915
Medium
etching and drypoint on light green paper
Dimensions
sheet: 35.3 × 24.5 cm (13 7/8 × 9 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.5983
Art Historical Context
James McBey’s “Night in Ely Cathedral” captures the quiet majesty of one of England’s most celebrated Gothic landmarks through the subtle art of printmaking. Created in 1915 as an etching and drypoint on light green paper, the work uses the medium’s capacity for delicate lines and rich tonal contrasts to evoke the cathedral’s vast interior bathed in nocturnal stillness. The choice of light green paper lends a soft, atmospheric glow that enhances the sense of mystery and reverence. McBey, a Scottish artist celebrated for his mastery of etching, employed drypoint’s burr to create velvety textur...
About the Artist
James McBey
James McBey (1883–1959) was a Scottish artist renowned for his etchings and paintings, emerging from humble beginnings in Newburgh, Aberdeenshire, as the illegitimate son of a blacksmith's daughter. Largely self-taught, he left school at fifteen to work as a bank clerk in Aberdeen, where he devoured art books from the public library and attended evening classes at Gray's School of Art to hone his ...