Nathaniel Kornbluth, Etcher
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Butchers’ Row, Aldgate, 1934
This view was a familiar one for Nathaniel Kornbluth (1914–97) because he spent his working life running the family menswear business at 56 Whitechapel High St, just a few hundred yards away. As a child of Polish immigrants, Nathaniel found his aspirations to an artistic career were discouraged, yet he proved himself a loyal son by devoting himself to the wholesale clothing trade by day, while taking evening classes in printmaking at night.
Nathaniel learnt the techniques of etching at classes at Hackney Technical School in the thirties and then came under the influence of some of the most important printmakers of his time at the Central School of Arts & Crafts in the forties.
While Nathaniel’s choice of medium and subject matter display an awareness of Whistler, a distinctly twentieth century expressionist influence may also be perceived in the moody atmosphere that prevails. His prints reveal an artist of superlative technical accomplishment, with a rigorous quality of draftsmanship, a commanding sense of space and a subtle appreciation of the grim utilitarian beauty of the working city, especially the riverside.
During the thirties, Nathaniel first exhibited his etchings at the East End Academy at the Whitechapel Gallery, which was situated directly across the road from his family business. Subsequently, his prints were purchased for major collections both nationally and internationally, and he was holding solo exhibitions of new work until the nineteen-eighties.
Although Nathaniel sought subject matter all over the capital, his intricately detailed representations of the London Docks in particular survive as an invaluable record of a lost industry.
Limehouse Cut, 1935-6
Lovell’s Wharf, Greenwich, 1932
Regent’s Canal, Stepney, 1934
Junk Shop, Limehouse, 1935
Butcher’s Row & Limehouse Cut courtesy of Tower Hamlets Local History Library & Archives
Wonderful etchings thank you for reminding me what a great book ‘East end Vernacular ‘ is. I shall be dipping into it again.
I was so impressed by this work, I took some time this morning to read about the etching process;
which gave me an even greater appreciation of the work, above. The subtle feathery cross hatches, the skill involved in depicting depth and mystery (wouldn’t you give ANY thing to explore the shop in the Limehouse image?), the way the artist has used the paper itself as part of the composition, and his endless vocabulary of lines and marks……….Wonderful.
GA, thank you for your daily inspiration.
I’d love to buy one of these. Does he have a gallery?