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Tailpiece from 'This Man'
, English, 1903-1964
Title
Tailpiece from 'This Man'
Date1939
MediumWood engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 36.5 x 26.5 cm
Image: 26.7 x 20.2 cm
Credit LinePurchased, 2006
Terms
  • Artist's Proof
Object numberNGI.2006.21
DescriptionThis print is the final image in a wordless or graphic novel consisting of 25 wood engravings. Rivers began working on the wood blocks around 1932 but the book was not published until 1939. Most of the limited edition of 200 perished during the Blitz of December 1940. The titles of the engravings indicate the mystical nature of the book: ‘I come from the unknown’, ‘Yet myself alone’, ‘A new world’. It is typical of the starkly graphic wood engraving of this period, influenced by Vorticism and characterised by strong lines and contrasts.
ProvenanceOriginally part of McClelland Collection; purchased, Adam's, Dublin, 11 October 2006, lot 115 Exhibition HistoryElizabeth Rivers Memorial, Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane, 1966