William E. C. MORGAN
1903–1979, England

William E. C. Morgan’s painstaking technique is nowhere more evident than in the classical subjects he interpreted and engraved in the late 1920s. In so doing he helped to revive an interest in copper plate engraving. The closely engraved lines and overall attention to details are very Germanic in execution. The process of line engraving and a classical subject allied the artist to the Western academic tradition. The ‘antique’ so often provided a vehicle for nudity in engraving, but this was seldom the case in contemporary etching. Morgan trained at the Slade and was winner of the Prix de Rome in Engraving in 1924, ahead of such finalists as Graham Sutherland. Italian Hill Town, Saracinesco and similar topographical views in Italy, engraved or in drypoint, demonstrate Morgan’s more factual approach. By the 1930s, however, his eyesight was deteriorating and he was no longer able to engrave. Morgan’s work was especially appreciated in America where the University of Georgetown, Washington DC holds almost all of his 52 known prints.

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