Horatio Nelson Poole: Duck Pond Near Diamond Head
SCHOLARSHIP AUCTION 2009
Artist: Horatio Nelson Poole
Title: Duck Pond Near Diamond Head
Medium: etching
Dimensions: 5-3/4" x 7-3/4"
Date: 1919
Horatio Nelson Poole was one of the great masters of 20th century printmaking in Hawai’i. His skill in capturing the specificity and charm of a place in perfect, descriptive lines is evident in this vintage etching, Duck Ponds Near Diamond Head. At the time of Poole’s stay in Honolulu, there were numerous marshy ponds just Ewa side of the Diamond Head slopes. This picturesque scene of ducks swimming in a pond and others sunning on the bank is a quintessential Poole etching. The composition reflects his artistry and expertise; a foreground richly drawn with a variety of shrubs and grasses that grow along the curving edge of the pond and take us to the middle ground on the left where three ducks swim playfully. In the distance are larger palms and other trees growing up the slopes of Diamond Head that identifies the scenic location.
A masterful etching, Duck Ponds Near Diamond Head is not only a highly collectible artwork but also a most charming picture of a memorable time and place in Honolulu. The quality of lines, texture, and composition will delight viewers through the generations. This etching measures 5-3/4” x 7-3/4”and is signed on the plate, lower right, and dated 1919.
Horatio Nelson Poole (1884-1945), a prolific artist, made dozens of etchings and drypoints of Hawaiian landscapes and scenes. He was born into an artistic family and showed a schoolboy aptitude for drawing. Living in Philadelphia, Poole studied at the local School of Industrial Design where he learned etching. His first etching was made from a scrap piece of zinc and printed on a mangle used for printing blueprints at the factory where he worked, helping to support his family. He studied for six years at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts as a pupil of Thomas Anshutz. In 1914, he moved to Hawai’i, where his brother lived, supporting himself working as a newspaper cartoonist (1914-1917 for the Honolulu Star Bulletin and 1917-18 for the Honolulu Advertiser). During this time, Poole worked on developing his skills as an etcher. He earned money making bookplates for many famous collections of rare volumes.
In this way, he met major collectors, such as C. Montague Cooke, who bought prints of all the etchings Poole made in the islands. By 1918, Poole was one of the most prominent members of the Hawaiian Society of Artists. His fame reached beyond Hawai’i, and he was elected a member of the California Society of Etchers where he served as president for three years. In 1921, he left Hawai’i to relocate to San Francisco where he joined the faculty of the California School of Fine Arts. He gave lectures on the art of etching, painted in his Montgomery Street studio, created murals, had one-man shows at the Galerie Beaux-Arts (1929) and the San Francisco Museum of Art (1935), and continued to extend his influence on California art through his lectures at Berkeley and the California School of Fine Arts.
Gift from Pacific Gallery and Frames, Roy and Elaine Kimizuka