Following on from recent posts about Annie’s close friend Isabel Dacre, a fine full-length portrait of her by Francis Dodd had appeared for auction at Domanic Winter on 8 March.

An etching, this appears to be a proof copy, i.e. one of the first off the press, and shows Dodd’s great skill in the medium. It is produced by drawing on a metal plate (usually copper) by scratching (‘etching’) it with a needle, applying the ink, wiping off the plate so the ink only stays in the scratches, and finally pressing the plate onto paper. The dark areas are produced by intense cross-hatching.

The image is known from other sources, several museums around the world holding copies, and dates to 1909 when Isabel would have been about 65.