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

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:
    Etching
  • Movement & Style:
    Modern
  • Period:
    20th Century
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    London, GB
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU52413518952

More From This Seller

View All
The Souls of the Righteous
Located in London, GB
Etching, signed bottom right Image size: 2 1/2 x 9 3/4 inches (6.5 x 35 cm) Mounted This is an original print from a copper plate etching by Robert Smith Forrest. It depicts one of ...
Category

1920s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Paper, Etching

The Souls of the Righteous

Robert Smith Forrest
The Souls of the Righteous, c.1927

$325
Constantinople
Located in London, GB
Anton Ignaz Melling 1763-1831 Constantinople Etching, hand coloured Image size: 26 x13 inches (66 x 33cm) Acid free mount This etching of Constantinople offers a captivating panoram...
Category

Early 19th Century Landscape Prints

Materials

Etching

Constantinople

Anton Ignaz Melling
Constantinople

$5,809
Free Shipping
Tug Boat on the Thames, Early 20th Century Etching Print, London Landscape
Located in London, GB
Etching on paper, signed bottom left Image size: 9 x 4 3/4 inches (22.75 x 12 cm) Framed
Category

1910s Landscape Prints

Materials

Paper, Etching

Tug Boat on the Thames, Early 20th Century Etching Print, London Landscape

Tug Boat on the Thames, Early 20th Century Etching Print, London Landscape

$508
The Card Players, Late 18th Century British Etching
Located in London, GB
Etching laid on paper Image size: 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 inches (8 x 8 cm) This etching is after a work by Adriaen van Ostade, a 17th century Dutch artist. This wonderful etching shows a gr...
Category

Late 18th Century Interior Prints

Materials

Etching

The Card Players, Late 18th Century British Etching

David Deuchar
The Card Players, Late 18th Century British Etching

Price Upon Request
Colliery Scene, Lancashire, 20th Century British Artist, Wood Engraving
Located in London, GB
Wood Engraving on paper, signed and entitled below artwork Image size: 6 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches (16 x 11.5 cm) Mounted and framed This print depicts a scene of a colliery, that is of a ...
Category

20th Century Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Engraving

Colliery Scene, Lancashire, 20th Century British Artist, Wood Engraving

David Kenneth Mandell
Colliery Scene, Lancashire, 20th Century British Artist, Wood Engraving

$433
Summer Flowers 20th Century Modern British
By Gordon Scott
Located in London, GB
Gordon Scott ARCA 1914 - 2016 Summer Flowers Oil on canvas, signed lower left Image size: 23.5 x 20 inches Contemporary style frame Gordon Scott was trained at the Royal College of Art (1934-38) under Gilbert Spencer, Alan Sorrell and Charles Mahoney. In 1938 he was awarded a Travelling Scholarship by the R.C.A. for painting. A reserved and highly principled man, during WWII he was a conscientious objector, stationed at Bulford Camp on Salisbury Plain. His defined role there is unknown, but during his time there he produced a number of sketches and paintings of soldiers and other personnel who passed through the camp. In 1946 Joseph Dixon...
Category

20th Century Modern Still-life Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil

Summer Flowers 20th Century Modern British

Gordon Scott
Summer Flowers 20th Century Modern British

$2,168

You May Also Like

Souhaits - Original Etching by Roger Wild - Mid-20th Century
By Roger Wild
Located in Roma, IT
Souhaits is an Original Etching realized by Roger Wild in the 20th Century. Good conditions. Numbered. Edition, 34/99. The artwork is depicted through soft lines in a well-balance...
Category

Mid-20th Century Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Souhaits - Original Etching by Roger Wild - Mid-20th Century

Roger Wild
Souhaits - Original Etching by Roger Wild - Mid-20th Century, Mid-20th Century

$323
Extase Poétique - Original Etching by Alphonse Legros - 1876
By Alphonse Legros
Located in Roma, IT
Extase Poétique is an original artwork realized by the french artist Alphonse Legros (1837-1911). Etching print, 1876. Hand-signed on plate, on the lower left , titled on plate. Passepartout cm 50x32. The artwork was edited by A. Cadart Paris. Good conditions except some light foxings. Alphonse Legros was born on May 8, 1837 in Dijon, France. While young, Legros visited the farms of his relatives, and the peasants and landscapes of that part of France are the subjects of many of his works. He was sent to the art school at Dijon with a view to qualifying for a trade, and was apprenticed to an interior decorator. In 1851, Legros left for Paris, but passing through Lyon he worked for six months as journeyman muralist for painter/art restorer Jean-Baptiste Beuchot, who was painting the chapel of Cardinal Bonald in the cathedral.In Paris, Legros studied with theater scene painter Charles-Antoine. He attended also the drawing-school of Lecoq de Boisbaudran (the "Petite école") where he found made friends with Jules Dalou and Auguste Rodin. In 1855, he attended the evening classes of the École des Beaux Arts.Legros sent two portraits to the Paris Salon of 1857: one was rejected, and formed part of the exhibition of protest organized by Francois Bonvin...
Category

1990s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Extase Poétique - Original Etching by Alphonse Legros - 1876

Alphonse Legros
Extase Poétique - Original Etching by Alphonse Legros - 1876, 1876

$404
Sleeping Man - Original Etching by Jules de Goncourt - Mid 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Sleeping Man is an Original Etching realized by Jules de Goncourt (1830-1870). The artwork is based on Gavarni. Good condition, included a white cardboard passpartout (50.5x35 cm). Signature on the lower right corner. Jules de Goncourt (17 December 1830 - 20 June 1870) was a French naturalist.
Category

Mid-19th Century Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Sleeping Man - Original Etching by Jules de Goncourt - Mid 19th Century

Jules de Goncourt
Sleeping Man - Original Etching by Jules de Goncourt - Mid 19th Century, Mid-19th Century

$392
OPHELIA (Jeunesse Dorée / Golden Youth - the artist's mistress / second wife)
By Gerald Leslie Brockhurst
Located in New Orleans, LA
This elegant etching titled the gilded youth is of the second wife of the artist The edition is 75 and is referenced as Fletcher #80 Gerald Brockhurst is best known for his portrai...
Category

1940s American Modern Portrait Prints

Materials

Etching

OPHELIA (Jeunesse Dorée / Golden Youth - the artist's mistress / second wife)

Gerald Leslie Brockhurst
OPHELIA (Jeunesse Dorée / Golden Youth - the artist's mistress / second wife), 1942

$4,800 Sale Price
26% Off
Young Woman from Lucerne - Etching - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Young woman of Lucerne is an original artwork realized by Anonymous artist in 19th Century. Mixed colored etching hand-watercolored by the artist. Includes frame 20 x 14 cm Good c...
Category

1810s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Young Woman from Lucerne - Etching - 19th Century

Young Woman from Lucerne - Etching - 19th Century, 19th Century

$208
Young Boy of Salzburg - Etching - 19th Century
Located in Roma, IT
Young boy of Salzburg is an original artwork realized by Anonymous artist in 19th century. Mixed colored etching hand-watercolored by tha artist. Includes frame 20 x 14 cm Good co...
Category

1810s Modern Figurative Prints

Materials

Etching

Young Boy of Salzburg - Etching - 19th Century

Young Boy of Salzburg - Etching - 19th Century, 19th Century

$208

Recently Viewed

View All