T for Trumpeter

Category

Library Item

Item no

23665

Title

T for Trumpeter

Description

A tall man with long dark hair and a moustache is standing and holding a trumpet in a bandaged hand. He is wearing a long cloak, a red jacket and over the knee boots.
Reproduced by kind permission of (c) Desmond Banks.

Artist / maker

Nicholson, William Newzam Prior

Date

1898

Size

24.5 x 19.5 cm

Type

Wood cut

Location

Art and Design Library

'An Alphabet', a series of woodcut prints, was executed by William Nicholson in 1897 and published in 1898. The first image in the series of alphabet illustrations is in fact, a self portrait of the artist. At the age of 25, Nicholson self-deprecatingly said he 'was an Artist'. Of the series, A and D were the pieces submitted for approval by William Heinemann. Each woodblock was valued at £5, and 6p for each of the impressions which were hand-coloured. It is believed that E and T were the amongst the latest of the woodcuts to be done. These assumptions are made based on changes in the character of the letters. It as also believed that the work was not created in a chronological order, but rather as the ideas came to Nicholson. T was for Toper (a person who drinks to excess), but this character was lost because it was thought it could offend parents.
Along with a woodcut of Queen Victoria made in 1897, 'An Alphabet' served to establish Nicholson's public reputation as an artist. He went on, after 1900, to concentrate on portrait and landscape painting, but his work as a printmaker continues to be highly regarded.

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Related images

Related subjects

Clothing and dress > Garments > Capes

Clothing and dress > Garments > Jacket

People > Adults > Men

People > Entertainment and sports > Musicians

Sport and leisure > Culture > Musical instruments