585. SIR MUIRHEAD BONE (1876-1953). AYR PRISON (Campbell Dodgson 179).

Drypoint, 1905, a signed proof (one of 41 impressions)
12 x 17.5cm.
Exhibited: New York, Harlow, McDonald & Co; London, The Arts Council of Great Britain, `Drawings and Dry Points by Sir Muirhead Bone`, nd, no.63; London, New English Art Club (each of the last two lent by Stephen Bone)
* This is generally considered to be Bone's masterpiece in this medium. It has been much admired for its composition; its subtle use of shade and light; its attention to detail (without fussiness); its capture of atmosphere (without resort to tricksy motifs); and the sense of the quiet and foreboding grandeur of the prison itself. In 1900, Bone had kept a studio very nearby, on Wellington Square in Ayr.