John William North

At the Grindstone, engraved by the Dalziel Brothers

published 1867

Image released under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0 Unported)

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In Tate Britain

Prints and Drawings Room

View by appointment
Artist
John William North 1841–1924
Medium
Wood engraving on paper
Dimensions
Image: 165 × 124 mm
Collection
Tate
Acquisition
Presented by Gilbert Dalziel 1924
Reference
N04021

Display caption

This is one of nineteen illustrations North made for Wayside Posies, a group of poems selected and edited by Robert Buchanan. In this image two men are sharpening tools on a grindstone while recounting tales of war, and the death of ‘Johnie, our little drummer’ who was ‘murdered’ by the Russians.

North was a friend of Walker and Pinwell and shared with them a vision of rural tranquility. His skill at designing wood-engravings is evident from the range of textures and contrasts of light and shade which he incorporates into this small image.

Gallery label, July 2008

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