The Impressed Image
Gallery 4 - 'Robin Tanner'
Robin Tanner b.1904 - d.1988.
Many of you will never have heard of this most English of printmakers in the tradition of Samuel Palmer,
Griggs and Sutherland. A meticulous craftsman, he thought nothing of devoting hundreds of hours to
perfecting a plate before editioning it, and was always surprised when people liked his etchings and wanted copies.
A lifelong pacifist, he gave most of the proceeds from sales of his prints in later years to a variety of
charities.
Although born in Bristol he spent virtually all his life around the Chippenham area of Wiltshire, and the
unspoilt rolling countryside, it's farms, villages and people provide the subject matter for his work for the
ensuing sixty years. He was deeply affected by the loss of land, habitat and crafts that was already underway in
the aftermath of the first world war and continued unabated throughout his life.
He studied at Goldsmiths college in London with the intention of teaching, but continued art studies part time
whilst he taught in Blackheath. He was greatly impressed by the 1926 exhibition of Samuel Palmers work and for
a brief period etched full time, but this unfortunately coincided with the 'etching crash' and little of his work
sold. He returned to full time teaching in 1930, becoming an Inspector of Schools in 1935 - a post he held with
distinction till he retired in 1964.
He etched sporadically throughout this time and produced artwork for several books, but his devotion to his
profession and particularly his interests in promoting art and crafts in schools left him little time to spare.
Hardly any of his etchings from this period sold and most were given to friends. After his retirement he returned to etching,
completing, improving and printing many plates he had started many years before. More than half his output is
derived from work carried out in the last 20 years of his life, and work created in his eighties bears
favourable comparison with that etched in his twenties.
Tanner never cancelled his plates, believing that limiting an edition gave etchings a value that was unrelated
to their intrinsic worth. Many plates underwent several editions, often with some reworking to counter wear or
improve them. In addition the printing of these densely etched works makes an enormous difference to the final
print. I know of no other etcher where there is so much variation from print to print. Tanners own printing,
usually on old or antique paper is invariably superb. This is one artist where an unsigned copy is frequently
the best - it is usually a trial proof printed with great care on sympathetic paper. Those printed for him by
Lorraine Smith closely approach his own, but some later editions printed for him lack the richness and depth
that characterises his best work. Couple that with widely varying edition sizes, and you have a buyers minefield.
You will always be happy with what you have - the compositions and technique are always pleasing, but compare your
Memorial Portfolio copy of 'Christmas 1929' with a 1929 trial proof on old blue paper and you will realise you have
a poor imitation of the real thing (most of the Memorial Portfolio prints - including Christmas - are in fact
pretty good - this isn't a criticism of them).
Of his 52 plates, 4 were never editioned, 1 remained unfinished, 2 exist as single copies, 2 were never editioned
and exist as a handful of trial proofs and 1 was a somewhat dire christmas card card sent to friends. That
leaves 42 plates in editions ranging from 12 to 1125. In my collection I have all of these and in addition a copy
of 'Homealong' which he never editioned. I've ordered then as per Robin Gartons catalogue of 1988, and a full
table listing the various editions, numbers printed and estimate of trial proofs is included at the end.
So you want to buy one? They pop up at auction from time to time at reasonable prices. Most of his early work
was sent to the US when it failed to sell in the UK, but there are no records of what happened to these prints.
Robin Garton, who greatly helped to promote Tanners work, held all the remaining stock and proofs from Tanners
estate up until 1998, when he sold the remnants to another dealer. Exbibitions prior and subsequent to this
have all but exhausted this stockpile. Chris Gange has the leftovers and may be able to help if you are interested:
Katherine House Gallery, UK +(0)1672 514040.
Click on images for details
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| Alington in Wiltshire |
Martins Hovel |
Homealong |
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| Wiltshire Roadmaker |
Wiltshire Hedger |
The Gamekeepers Cottage |
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| Christmas |
Christmas Card for 1929 |
Wiltshire Woodman |
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| Harvest Festival |
Autumn |
Wren and Primroses |
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| by R C Peter |
Amish Brothers by |
The White Shawl by Fred Carter |
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| The Wayside Cross by Fred Carter |
Self Portrait by Wyn Casbolt |
The Doorway by W Fairclough |
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| Untitled by Angela Fry |
Grays Elegy by Robin Tanner |
The Dream by Robin Tanner |
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| Wiltshire Hedger by Robin Tanner |
The Old Thorn by Robin Tanner |
January by Robin Tanner |
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| The Fishmonger by E White |
Turkish Houses by M Ross |
Marjorie by Mabel Royds |
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| Gubaidulin by L Zorin |
Kharlamov by L Zorin |
Leonov by L Zorin |
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| Nikireev by L Zorin |
Smirnov by L Zorin |
Self Portrait by L Zorin |
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| Saddhus Squatting by Marius Bauer |
A Fairy Tale by Marius Bauer |
Broadway by L R Conway |
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| St Pauls by Emerson Groom |
The Sapling by Anton Lock |
Jodhpur Gate by E Lumsden |
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| The Andalusian Maid by M Menpes |
Breton Interior by M Menpes |
Mrs Ronald Colman by M Menpes |
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| Jerusalem by Theo Moore |
Self Portrait by Barry Moser |
Reverie by C J Nightingale |
Gallery