E.043 River with an old boat hull 1991

• I. 1st state of 2

  

  Drypoint. River landscape with a curved shoreline at left, ending in a rocky promontory. In the foreground, protruding from the shallow waters, are the remains of the hull of a wooden boat, and, in the middle distance, industrial cranes and crooked telegraph poles. In the far left distance is a hill. The sky is covered with sketchily drawn clouds. The subject is complete in all essential details.

  Cleanly wiped impression with comparatively little burr, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘River with an Old Boat Hull’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.

• II. 2nd and final state

  Drypoint strokes have been added to many areas of the sky and clouds. There are two variant impressions of this state.

  1. Impression with rich burr, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘A/P I’; lower centre: ‘River with Old Boat Hull’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’. (Featured Image)
  2. Dark impression with rich burr and plate tone, on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘A/P II’; lower centre: ‘River with an Old Boat Hull’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.

• II.a. Artist’s proof of 2nd and final state (Featured Image)

  

  Drypoint strokes have been added to many areas of the sky and clouds. There are two variant impressions of this state.

• Edition, 1991

  Variable edition of ten numbered impressions, on wove papers of various colours, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. The edition included three artist’s proofs, two of which are recorded above as E.043.II.a and E.043.II.b. According to Amor’s intaglio record books, edition numbers 1 to 6 were printed on pale grey wove BFK Rives paper and edition numbers 7 to 10 were printed on cream wove BFK Rives paper. There is a great deal of variation in the appearance of the edition impressions, each one having been treated experimentally. Some impressions were printed with plate tone and wiped selectively, while others were left with rich burr; yet others were cleanly wiped. Each impression is inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘[status of impression]’ [or] ‘[1 through 10]/10’; lower centre: ‘River with an Old Boat Hull’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’91’.

• Edition impression with plate tone, on pale grey paper, 1991

  

• Edition impression, on cream paper, 1991

  

• Comment

  The view depicted in E.043 is the confluence of the Yarra and Maribyrnong rivers, seen from the Port Melbourne side, opposite Yarraville. Originally marshlands, this area succumbed in the early twentieth century to industrialization, the remnants of which may be seen in this drypoint. The work is based on a drawing in conté crayon, done on the spot and dated 6 February 1991. Amor returned to the site in 1995, when he produced an oil from a slightly more distant viewpoint (State Library of Victoria, Melbourne). The scene as presented in drawing, print and painting no longer exists, as the site is now a marina.

  The basic outlines of the subject of E.043 were completed in the first state but the image lacked tonal inflection. The addition of more drypoint in the second state provided this, while also echoing the intense blacks of the conté crayon drawing. Amor printed a full edition of ten impressions of this work, but in doing so he used papers of different colours and experimented with wiping the plate, so that no two impressions are alike.