The Dance of Death, 1914-1918

Allinson Gallery, Inc.

The Dance of Death, 1914-1918

Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

In October 1916, Smith joined the Royal Marines Artillery at the Somme. This set of etchings is based on drawings Smith made at Thiepval on the Somme. The Dance of Death, 1914-1918 is regarded as one of the most important and solemn statements on the First World War in art. The portfolio shows seven visions of Death in various roles. The images combine realistic depictions of the trenches with the medieval allegorical figure of Death as a skeleton wrapped in a cloak who visits the living, dying. and dead soldiers.

Image Credit:

Death Awed.

"The Dance life of Death, 1914-1918 is not a pretty set of etchings, but it is one of the most serious and memorable works of art inspired by the war."

Campbell Dodgson, Keeper of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum in 1912–32.

Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

Death Forbids

1921

7 7/8 x 9 7/8 (sheet 10 5/16 x 13 3/8)

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

Death Marches

1921

7 7/8 x 9 7/8 (sheet 10 5/8 x 13 1/4)

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Death Marches.

Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

Death Awed

1921

8 x 9 13/16 (sheet 10 1/2 x 14 1/2).

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

Death Refuses

1921

7 7/8 x 9 3/4 (sheet 10 1/2 x 13 1/8).

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Death Refuses.

Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

Death Waits

1921

7 7/8 x 9 3/4 (sheet 10 1/2 x 13 1/8).

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

Death Ponders

1921

8 x 9 7/8 (sheet 10 5/8 x 13 1/2)

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Death Ponders

Death Intoxicated

Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

1921

7 3/4 x 9 3/4 (sheet 10 1/2 x 13 3/8).

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

Title Page: Percy John Delf Smith, R.D.I. 1882-1948.

1921

Sheet: 18 1/2 x 15 1/2.

Etching and drypoint

$20,000 for the set

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Craftsman not known

Custom portfolio case

c. 1921

19 x 16

Portfolio case

ELIZABETH HOUGHTON.

$20,000 for the complete set

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Percy John Delf Smith, RDI ( Royal Designer for Industry), was a member of the Royal Society of Arts. A painter, calligrapher and book designer, he studied in London and exhibited at the R.A. He worked in Palestine (1932) and the United States. During World War I, Lieutenant Smith served with the Royal Marines Artillery in the trenches on the Western Front in France and later in Belgium. His most famous etched series, “The Dance of Death 1914–1918", explored the specter of Death following British soldiers.

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