This etching by Frederick Austin, striking in it’s accuracy of place and sense of design, was made in 1925 during the ‘golden era’ of British printmaking. A high sun casts severe shadows on walls of the towering closes in a dramatic chiaroscuro. The scene, featuring a medley of characters and figures is alive with the cut and thrust of a working city.
Frederick Austin was a British painter, etcher, and engraver. Austin studied at Leicester College of Art and RCA. For his work Flight into Egypt, he won the Prix de Rome in 1927, five years after his brother Robert Sargeant Austin had done before him in 1922. In his early career, he gained influence and inspiration from his brother, but over time an individual style emerged more modernist in outlook. In his printed works, religious subject matter is recurring, as well as inspiration from medieval sources. Together with his brother, Austin was one of the few original printmakers to continue with traditional printmaking techniques after World War II. He exhibited widely including the RA and RE. Austin’s work is held in several public collections including the Ashmolean and V&A.