Herbert Raine British Canadian, 1875-1951

Pigs and a House, St. Fereol P.Q by Herbert Raine is a 4 x 8 inch etching on paper that is protected by museum glass. The piece is signed by the artist on the bottom right corner and was produced circa 1920. It depicts a traditional farmhouse, surrounded by a simple wooden fence. A farmer can be seen in the foreground smoking a pipe as he ushers his livestock across the pasture. Raine uses a combination of cross-hatching and pure white space to emphasize the form of the house and create contrast in this small etching. His mastery of his craft is evident in the control of his linework and his ability to suggest form and shadow with just a few strokes.

Herbert Raine was born in England in 1875 and worked as an architect as well as an artist. He immigrated to Canada in 1907, settling in Montreal. He devoted much of his career to capturing the city’s streets in both etchings and watercolour paintings.