Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 3

Robert Ball
Self Portrait, Mid 20th Century, British Artist, Signed Etching

$961.95
£710
€830.77
CA$1,325.15
A$1,484.08
CHF 774.37
MX$18,127.42
NOK 9,852.23
SEK 9,286.91
DKK 6,199.95

About the Item

Etching, entitled bottom left and signed bottom right Image size: 5 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches (13.25 x 19 cm) Contemporary frame Holding a pen and with the bottom section of the work done in a more sketchy manner it appears as though Ball has captured himself here in the act of literally drawing his own self-portrait. Ball created a number of prints including scenes from his environment: industry, people at work, figure studies, and portraits. All of his etchings and engravings show a preoccupation with drawing and craftsmanship. It is clear that the act of drawing from life, to study the human form, was an integral part of his practice. It was largely down to this mastery of draftsmanship that led to the artist gaining the reputation as one of the greatest British printmakers of his generation and his work deserves greater attention. Robert Ball Robert Ball was something of a child prodigy, learning to draw from memory at an early age. Ball was born in Birmingham and began his training in 1930, at the age of twelve, at the Moseley Road Junior School of Art and Crafts. He was exceptionally talented at drawing and won a number of scholarships and prizes, including a scholarship to study engraving at the Royal College of Art in 1941. He was a printmaker who produced mainly etchings and engravings and became an associate member of the RBSA in 1943. During the Second World War he was employed as a draughtsman at Charlesworths. Ball went on to become Principal at the Stroud School of Art from 1953 until 1959 and was a lecturer of painting and drawing at the Gloucestershire College of art from 1954 until 1981. Despite being involved in art schools throughout his life, Ball saw himself as a self-taught artist. His work can be seen in the V&A, Cheltenham Art Gallery, Gloucester City Museum and Art Gallery and The Ashmolean in Oxford. He was a friend of Laurie Lee and Frank Mansell, illustrating Frank's celebrated collection of poetry 'The Cotswold Ballads' with a series of woodcuts.
  • Creator:
    Robert Ball (1918 - 2008, British)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)Width: 3 in (7.62 cm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    1 of 30Price: $962
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU52413518952

More From This Seller

View All
Self Portrait, Charcoal on Paper, 20th Century British Drawing
By William Dring
Located in London, GB
Charcoal on paper Image size: 4 1/2 x 4 1/4 inches (11.5 x 10.75 cm) Mounted with a contemporary style frame This is a somewhat haunting self-portrait by William Dring, crafted in charcoal. Here, Dring presents himself through dark shadow and bright highlights, looking out directly at the viewer with a serious gaze. Although the Dring has been economical in the use of his marks we are still given plenty of information and can identify the energy in which the strokes of charcoal must have been placed onto the surface. William Dring Dring was born with the forenames Dennis William, but was known colloquially as John. He was the brother of the artist James Dring. He married the painter Grace Elizabeth...
Category

20th Century Modern Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Charcoal

Self Portrait, 20th Century English Artist, Graphite Drawing
By Frank Jameson
Located in London, GB
Frank Jameson 1899 - 1968 Self Portrait Graphite on paper, signed lower right Image size: 15 x 9 inches Contemporary frame Frank Jameson was born in London and later moved to Birmingham where he attended evening classes in drawing and painting at Birmingham Art School. By day he worked as an insurance salesman. During the First World War he became an officer in the Worcester Regiment and was in charge of building bridges and block houses. He returned to the Midlands but then travelled widely by rail, eventually discovering St Ives where he was inspired by the stunning scenery. He stayed and rented the Loft Studio. He also became a member of the St Ives Society of Artists and exhibited frequently with his fellow artists, especially John Park...
Category

20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Graphite

Bernard, Self Portrait
Located in London, GB
English School Bernard, Self Portrait 1950s Pencil and sepia chalk on paper Image size: 9 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches (24 x 34.3 cm) Handmade contemporary frame This imaginative self-portra...
Category

1950s Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Chalk, Pencil

Portrait of a Young Male, Graphite on paper sketch, 20th Century English Artist
By John Sergeant
Located in London, GB
Graphite on paper Image size: 10 1/4 x 8 1/2 (26 x 22 cm) Mounted Drawing was at the heart of all of his artistic practice. A friend once recalled an anecdote that out on a walk he ...
Category

20th Century English School Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Portrait of a Young Man, 20th Century Graphite on Paper
By James Stroudley
Located in London, GB
James Stroudley 1906 -1985 Portrait of a Young Man Graphite on paper Image size: 18 x 16 inches James Stroudley was born in London on 17 June 1906, the son of James Stroudley, showcard and ticket writer. He studied at Clapham School of Art (1923-27) and then at the Royal College of Art (1927-30), where his teachers included Alan Gwynne-Jones and William Rothenstein. As a recipient of the first Abbey Scholarship he was able to spend three years in Italy from 1930, where he absorbed the influences of Giotto and Piero della Francesca, and produced one of the last wholly satisfying decorative cycles by a Rome Scholar of the period. From 1934, he exhibited at the Royal Society of British Artists, and was elected to its membership in the following year. From the Second World War – in which he worked with the Camouflage Unit – Stroudley taught at St Martin’s School of Art and was a visiting lecturer at the Royal Academy Schools. Though he continued to live in London, his later work, exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1955, indicated regular painting trips to Kent and Sussex coasts. However, much of his later work was abstract. In 1971, his former student, Peter Coker...
Category

20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Graphite

Portrait of a Man
By William Dring
Located in London, GB
William Dring 1904-1990 Ink on paper Image size: 15 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches (38.9 x 28.5cm) The artwork portrays a man in profile, meticulously rendered in ink on paper. Dring pays close attention to the contours of the skin and hair. The intricate facial details prompt viewers to contemplate themes of identity and expression, while the minimalistic background underscores the figure’s separation from its surroundings. William Dring Dring was born with the forenames Dennis William, but was known colloquially as John. He was the brother of the artist James Dring. He married the painter Grace Elizabeth...
Category

20th Century Portrait Drawings and Watercolors

Materials

Paper, Ink

You May Also Like

Portrait 1930/35 - Etching by Mino Maccari - 1930s
By Mino Maccari
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait 1930/35 is an original etching realized by Mino Maccari (1930-1935). The artwork is in good conditions, except for worn paper on the margins. Image Dimensions: 25x16 cm. ...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Portrait - Original Etching by Paul Pouchol - Mid-20th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait is an original Etching realized in the mid-20th Century by Paul Pouchol (1904-1963). Good Conditions. The artwork is depicted through strong st...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Prints and Multiples

Materials

Etching

Self-portrait - Original Etching on Paper by Mino Maccari - 1930
By Mino Maccari
Located in Roma, IT
Self-portrait of Mino Maccari is an original modern artwork realized in the first decades of the XX Century by the Italian artist Mino Maccari (Siena, 1898 - Rome, 1989). Original r...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Portrait of Pierre Guastalla - Etching by Halman Hagelstam - 1926
Located in Roma, IT
Portrait of Pierre Guastalla is an original etching on paper realized in 1926 by Halman Hagelstam (1899-1941) Hand-signed and dated on the lower right in pencil with the dedication ...
Category

1920s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Self-Portrait - Etching by Walter Jacob - 1920
Located in Roma, IT
Self-portrait is an Artwork realized in 1920,  realized by the german artist Walter Jacob (1893 - 1964). Drypoint print on ivory paper. Hand signed and dated on the right margin. T...
Category

1920s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Self-Portrait - Original Etching by Giuseppe Viviani - 1983 (1931)
By Giuseppe Viviani
Located in Roma, IT
Self-portrait is an original etching realized by Giuseppe Viviani on plate in 1931. In 1983 a 100-piece edition was made, all signed by the widow of the artist Signora Eralda Benso ...
Category

1930s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching