"The Gate, Venice" by Ernest D. Roth, (Amer., 1879-1964)

Etching, 1906, ed. unknown, A.E. 4, 6-1/2 x 7-1/2, unsigned, on cream laid paper. By 1905 when he left America for Europe, Ernest Roth had studied etching at the National Academy under James Smillie and was already an accomplished artist. Etching his first Venetian subjects just three years after Whistler's death, Roth was among the most talented of the next generation of etchers to focus on the floating city as a favored subject. This early view of a Venetian courtyard glimpsed from an arched entrance on a canal, shows a variety of marks and textures which achieve a wealth of detail, along with the subtle play of light reflecting off the water'surface.