News-Antique.com - Sep 19,2007 - Treadway Galley is honored to present the most comprehensive collection of Hurley etchings ever offered. This one of-a-kind collection of beautifully rendered images comes to the Gallery through the artist’s son and daughter and features etchings, pastels and drawings, many which have never before been offered. All of the etchings are in very good to excellent condition and highlight many of Cincinnati’s premier landmarks from the early twentieth century.
Edward Timothy Hurley is famous on two fronts. First, his etchings, paintings and illustrations made him a major architectural and landscape artist, particularly those dealing with his native city of Cincinnati. Secondly, as the leading artist of Rookwood Pottery, his name is forever prominent in the annals of American art pottery. Hurley graduated from St. Xavier High School in 1887 and studied under Frank Duveneck at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, ca.1894-1898 where he became a skilled drypoint artist and etcher.
Hurley was employed as a decorator at Rookwood beginning in 1896, and translated his deep love of nature into landscapes on the vases and plaques produced at the Pottery. At the St. Louis World’s Fair in 1904, he was awarded the gold medal for originality in art workmanship. Hurley married fellow Rookwood decorator, Irene Bishop, in 1907.
Outside the Pottery, Hurley spent much of his time creating hundreds of etchings; highlighting scenic views of Cincinnati including downtown landmarks, the shoreline of the Ohio River, bustling outdoor markets, and the climbing rooftops of Mount Adams. In the prologue to one of his published collections of poetic etchings, Impressions of Cincinnati (1924), Russell Wilson proclaimed Hurley “the etcher laureate of Cincinnati.”
A curious experimenter, Hurley was inventive with his print making processes and his materials. He created, patented, and sold “Hurley Crayons,” an oil pastel stick that could be used directly on the plate and would prevent the acid from cutting through. Advertised in “International Studio” magazine, and supplied to local schools and art supply shops, the crayons were produced by the artist from 1916 to 1935. He also devised and sold the “Hurley” black etching ground, which required no smoking and resulted in a print with a glossy, ebony blank surface.
Aside from his astounding work in ceramic decoration and drypoint etching, Hurley produced work in mediums such as bronze, pastels, watercolor and oils.
Studied:
Xavier University; Cincinnati Art Academy, 1894-98 with Beck and Duveneck
Member:
Cincinnati Society of Etchers; Society of American Etchers; Ohio Print Makers; The Crafters; Cincinnati Art Club; Duveneck Society. Painters and Sculptors
Exhibited:
National Academy of Design; Herron Art Institute; Cincinnati Art Museum; Corcoran Gallery, 1910, 1912, 1916; Louisiana Purchase Exhibition; Art Institute of Chicago, 1921 (Logan Medal); St. Louis World’s Fair, 1904; Columbus, 1921 (landscape prize)
This collection of Hurley’s etchings, pastels and drawings will be available for viewing on our website via the exhibitions link at www.treadwaygallery.com. The collection can also be viewed at the gallery in historic O'Bryonville, 2029 Madison Road 10-5, Monday-Saturday or by appointment. As usual everything is guaranteed and worldwide
