TitleSparking
Artist
Alfred Jones
(English, 1819 - 1900)
Original artistAfter
Francis William Edmonds
(American, 1806 - 1863)
Date1844
MediumEngraving and etching on off-white wove paper
DimensionsSheet size: 16 3/8 × 18 3/8 in.
Mat size: 20 1/2 × 22 3/4 in.
SubmissionNA diploma presentation
Credit LineNational Academy of Design, New York, NY
Object number1981.868c
Label TextJones was born in Liverpool in 1819, and came to America as a young man. Beginning in 1834 he served an apprenticeship in the banknote engraving firm of Rawdon, Wright, Hatch & Edson, first in Albany, New York, and later in New York City. Following his move to the city he studied at the National Academy of Design, where he was elected as an Academician in 1851. In 1843 he produced his first large plate engraving – a print after William Sidney Mount’s genre painting The Farmers’ Nooning. Jones established a reputation as one of America’s finest engravers. His talent and skill is apparent in his print after Francis William Edmonds’ genre painting Sparking. Here he renders the effect of firelight in the main room, and candlelight in the distant kitchen, with great subtlety. Sparking was created in 1844 for the American Art-Union. Copies of the engraving were dispersed to the organization’s members.
