'Modern Education' was inspired by the appointment of Herbert Fisher (1865-1940) as Education Minister in 1917 and was reproduced in 'Teachers World', 7 March 1917. The plate was worked through 7 states which Richards discussed with Sir Frank Short at the Royal College who annotated some of the earlier proofs. The figure of the nude boy piping appears to have been taken from 'The Idylle' by the Spanish artist Mariano Fortuny y Carbo (1834-1874), see PR67. The print was exhibited at both the Royal Academy and the Royal Society of Painter-Etchers in 1917. The following passage by W.J.T. Collins explains the print: 'It [the city] is the world of wonder, aspiration, and attainment symbolised by the most famous buildings of Classic, Gothic, Renaissance and Modern Art... The entrance to that city is by the Triumphal Arch of Education... Streaming towards the broad steps which lead to the gateway is an unbroken procession of men, women and children. In the foreground, seated on the balustrade, heedlessly piping, is Youth. He has no eyes for the City Beautiful, no thought for the procession of intellectual and artistic venturers. How is the teacher to capture the heart and will and mind of this elusive creature...? There is also a downward path; on each side of the gateway the ground dips down to dark arches which hint of the underworld... ' From 'Artist-Venturer - The Life and Letters of Fred Richards Etcher and Author, R.H. Johns Ltd., Newport, p.64
Imaginative townscape with famous buildings, 'Modern Education'; foreground, a nude boy sits on a wall playing a pipe surrounded by stones, weeds, toadstools, cobwebs, books, scissors, an hour glass, and a chest previously attached by a now broken tether to the boys left ankle; middleground, a procession of figures ascend steps and pass through a large Roman? arch; background, a montage of famous buildings brought together to form a cityscape including St Paul's Cathedral, the Parthenon, Big Ben, London Bridge and St Peter's Monument. Etched in fine detail in a tentative varied line with stopping out used for lighter shades. Selected text on image, on chest, 'ANCIENT METHODS AD1', on books, 'THE STORY OF A BLIND ALLEY', 'LEAVES FROM A YOUNG LIFE', 'FIRST CATCH YOUR HARE', 'TREATISE ON THE GAME AND PLAY OF MARBLES', 'THE THREE R'S HA! HA!HA!'
