• J.W.F. Stephen, who formed a definitive collection of the etched work of Sydney Long. J.A.C. Stephen, the artist’s son, by descent.
• Purchased by the Australian National Gallery, from J.A.C. Stephen, Sydney, 1977.

‘… by the cress-set rivulets in which the
sand danced and minnows darted above
the Springs of Wandel’, wrote the artist and art critic, John Ruskin, in Praeterita (1930). In the 19th century the River Wandle was a popular place for artists, with several members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood living in the area. William Morris produced a Wandle chintz, saying that he wanted to make the pattern very elaborate and splendid to honour the stream.

Although the river had been heavily industrialised, land had always been farmed on either side of the river and, in this etching, Long conveyed his response to the beauty of the place and its much lauded gardens, glens and glades. With the tall thin tree reaching up to meet the branches of the trees on the right, forming an arch, it was a characteristic image for Long, in the tradition of his early prints such as Pastoral softground (cat 69). But On the Wandle is a lighter, more air-filled image than these early prints.

A copy of On the Wandle was first shown in 1921 in London at ‘The Royal Society of Painter–Etchers and Engravers’ exhibition’ (188), at the Royal Academy (863) and in Melbourne at the exhibition The water-colours and etchings of Sydney Long,
ARE, Decoration Galleries, Melbourne,
15­–26 August (1).

Another copy of this print is held by the National Gallery of Australia, and an artist’s proof is held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Copies are also held by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. A copy was presented to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, in 1921 by William P. Robins, and a copy in brown ink was given by Long to the British Museum, London, in 1924.

‘… by the cress-set rivulets in which the
sand danced and minnows darted above
the Springs of Wandel’, wrote the artist and art critic, John Ruskin, in Praeterita (1930). In the 19th century the River Wandle was a popular place for artists, with several members of the Pre-Raphaelite brotherhood living in the area. William Morris produced a Wandle chintz, saying that he wanted to make the pattern very elaborate and splendid to honour the stream.

Although the river had been heavily industrialised, land had always been farmed on either side of the river and, in this etching, Long conveyed his response to the beauty of the place and its much lauded gardens, glens and glades. With the tall thin tree reaching up to meet the branches of the trees on the right, forming an arch, it was a characteristic image for Long, in the tradition of his early prints such as Pastoral softground (cat 69). But On the Wandle is a lighter, more air-filled image than these early prints.

A copy of On the Wandle was first shown in 1921 in London at ‘The Royal Society of Painter–Etchers and Engravers’ exhibition’ (188), at the Royal Academy (863) and in Melbourne at the exhibition The water-colours and etchings of Sydney Long,
ARE, Decoration Galleries, Melbourne,
15­–26 August (1).

Another copy of this print is held by the National Gallery of Australia, and an artist’s proof is held by the Art Gallery of New South Wales. Copies are also held by the Art Gallery of South Australia, the Art Gallery of Western Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery. A copy was presented to the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, in 1921 by William P. Robins, and a copy in brown ink was given by Long to the British Museum, London, in 1924.