Portrait of Mrs. Arthur Melville
c. 1908
Medium
drypoint on laid paper
Dimensions
plate (cut to plate mark): 22.7 × 17.7 cm (8 15/16 × 6 15/16 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.7551
Art Historical Context
In the intimate *Portrait of Mrs. Arthur* (c. 1908), French-born British artist Théodore Roussel captures the refined elegance of his subject through the delicate medium of drypoint on laid paper. Measuring just 22.7 × 17.7 cm, this print exemplifies Roussel's mastery of etching, a technique he honed under the influence of James McNeill Whistler. The subject, wife of Scottish painter Arthur Melville, reflects the interconnected artistic circles of early 20th-century London Paris, where portraiture served as both personal tribute and professional exchange. Drypoint, an intaglio process, involv...