E.071 The gardens 1993

• I. 1st state of 5

  Etching. A small classical temple, with four columns and a pediment, stands in a garden setting, amid large shrubs and a variety of tall, mature trees. The temple and trees are situated on the crest of a rise, and the trees cast oblique shadows, slanted down towards the right. The image is lightly etched. There are two variant impressions of this state.

  1. Cleanly wiped, somewhat dry, impression on wove Arches paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘1 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’.
  2. Strong, clear impression on wove Arches paper with watermark, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘2 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’. Although inscribed ‘2’, this is an impression of the first state.

• I.b. 1st state of 5

  

  Etching. A small classical temple, with four columns and a pediment, stands in a garden setting, amid large shrubs and a variety of tall, mature trees. The temple and trees are situated on the crest of a rise, and the trees cast oblique shadows, slanted down towards the right. The image is lightly etched. There are two variant impressions of this state.

• II. 2nd state of 5

  Loosely scribbled etched shading has been added to the left of the tree at the far left, to the tree beside it, and to the crown of the trees at right.

  Impression on wove Arches paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘3 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’. Although inscribed ‘3’, this is the second state.

• III. 3rd state of 5

  

  More etched details have been added to the trees at right and the plate has been re-etched.

  Impression on wove Arches paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘4 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’. Although inscribed ‘4’, this is the third state.

• IV. 4th state of 5

  Touches of drypoint have been added to the tree below the tallest tree at right, giving it three prominent branches.

  Impression on wove Arches paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘5 [circled]’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’. Although inscribed ‘5’, this is the fourth state.

• V. 5th and final state

  Drypoint accents have been added to many areas of the plate. There are three variant impressions of this state.

  1. Impression on wove Arches paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘Bon à tirer’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’. Although inscribed ‘Bon à tirer’, this is an impression of the fifth and final state.
  2. Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP I’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’. (Featured Image)
  3. Impression on wove paper, printed by Rick Amor in his Dunmoochin studio. Inscribed in pencil, below the plate mark: lower left: ‘AP II’; lower centre: ‘The Gardens’; lower right: signed and dated ‘Rick Amor ’93’.

• V.b. Artist’s proof of 5th and final state (Featured Image)

  

  Drypoint accents have been added to many areas of the plate. There are three variant impressions of this state.

• No edition

• Comment

  The view depicted in this etching is of a corner of the Fitzroy Gardens, historically significant public gardens situated on twenty-six hectares (sixty-four acres) in East Melbourne, on the edge of Melbourne’s CBD. The gardens were established in the mid nineteenth century, to the design of Edward La Trobe Bateman (1816–1897), an associate of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. They have undergone changes over the years, but have retained many of their old, predominantly European trees, which rise among winding, intersecting paths and wide lawns.

  The Fitzroy Gardens have been a favoured location of Amor’s for the scale of their trees and their vistas, for the contrast they provide with the adjacent city, and for the way in which their sheer size dwarfs, or can conceal, human presence. Many of the artist’s views of public gardens subjects are set in the Fitzroy Gardens; some of these works use the setting in a general, evocative way, while others, such as this print, are also fairly accurate depictions.

  E.071 is based on a drawing done on the spot, and includes the Old Bandstand (erected 1864), which was built to resemble a classical temple. The five states of the etching document Amor’s straightforward path to completing his image.

  For other intaglio prints by Amor that depict Fitzroy Gardens subjects, see cat. nos E.007, E.079 and E.136.