
Falling Figure
1947
18.75" x 15.625" Framed: 26.25" x 23"
Works on Paper, Print engraving, soft ground and scouper on paper; ed. 45/50
18.75" x 15.625" Framed: 26.25" x 23"
Works on Paper, Print engraving, soft ground and scouper on paper; ed. 45/50
Signed and dated lower center, "SW Hayter 47", titled in pencil lower center
About the Artist
(1901 - 1988)

Born on December 27, 1901 in Hackney, United Kingdom, he studied chemistry and geology at King’s College in London before working in Iran for the Anglo-Persian oil company. Moving to Paris in 1926, he briefly enrolled at the Académie Julian before befriending the Polish-born artist Joseph Hecht, who taught him engraving techniques. A year later, he opened Atelier 17, Hayter’s background in chemistry led him to treat printmaking as a science, and he experimented with a number of techniques, including viscosity printing, gaufrage, and soft-ground etching. Hayter fled Europe in 1939 due to World War II, establishing another print shop in New York where he continued to work until returning to Paris in 1950.
The artist died on May 4, 1988 in Paris, France. Today, his works are held in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Tate Gallery in London, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., among others.