Edgar Holloway British 1914-2008
Self Portrait No.9, 1937

£1,750

Etching
Signed (lower right) and numbered 47/50 (lower left)
12.5cm × 10cm (34cm × 31cm framed)

Holloway was born in South Yorkshire. Aged only 10, encouraged by his father, a miner-turned-printseller, he was enrolled on a correspondence course for which the renowned etcher Edward Bouverie Hoyton served as a consultant. He left grammar school at 13 on condition that he would continue his education at Doncaster school of art, where he attended evening classes only. That same year, his first published drawing appeared in a local newspaper.

Life drawing aside, he was largely self-trained. He gleaned what he knew about printmaking from library books and from the prints surrounding him in his father's shop. He learnt to emulate the masters - Rembrandt, Van Dyck and Castiglione. In 1929, his father presented Holloway with an etching press, and he began to make prints that were sold through his father's business. By his 20s, his work was so highly regarded, his work was exhibited at the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and other major national institutions.

Perhaps trying to emulate master such as Rembrandt, this work is one of a series of self-portraits created by Holloway during his long career; although his modest response when asked why so many self-portraits, “I spent a lot of time by myself, so it was a good way to practice.”