Prints, Drawings, and Photographs "The Devill's Webbe" c. 1838-39 John Bell, British, 1811 - 1895 Etching Currently not on view 1985-52-16896 |
The Muriel and Philip Berman Gift, acquired from the John S. Phillips bequest of 1876 to the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with funds contributed by Muriel and Philip Berman, gifts (by exchange) of Lisa Norris Elkins, Bryant W. Langston, Samuel S. White 3rd and Vera White, with additional funds contributed by John Howard McFadden, Jr., Thomas Skelton Harrison, and the Philip H. and A.S.W. Rosenbach Foundation, 1985LabelThe lone sculpture in the Etching Club, London, John Bell favored a simple, classical style for his etching and often added lines from his own poetry onto the plate. This print presents four lines from a longer poem written by Bell describing a spider-like devil who greedily entangles the winged lovers of pleasure, gain, and strife. |
