Nature’s Secret, John Wade (b.1947), 1970s emulsion etching, 11×15 in, signed & numbered 42/80.

This original 1970s emulsion etching by American printmaker John Wade reveals soft-toned wildflowers rendered with remarkable depth and atmospheric texture. Signed and numbered 42/80, Nature’s Secret exemplifies Wade’s innovative fusion of photo-emulsion and traditional etching, a process he helped pioneer in the post–mid-century American printmaking movement. A delicate, intimate work for collectors of fine botanical and experimental intaglio prints.

Artwork Description

Nature’s Secret is a lyrical floral composition created during John Wade’s experimental printmaking period of the 1970s. Using photo-emulsion techniques in combination with fine etching, Wade achieves extraordinary depth: velvety shadows, detailed linework, and a warm sepia-gold tonal range that gives the flowers a quiet radiance. The oval plate mark enhances the sense of intimacy, drawing the viewer inward as if peering through a vignette or magnifying lens into a hidden garden.

The daisies are rendered with meticulous detail—crosshatched petals, textural seed heads, layered leaves—balanced by soft atmospheric blurring created through photographic grain embedded in the emulsion. This interplay of hand-drawn engraving and emulsion-based tonal diffusion is signature to Wade’s work and demonstrates his mastery of hybrid processes.

The print is hand-titled Nature’s Secret, numbered 42/80, and signed “John Wade.” Conceptually, the piece reflects Wade’s recurring themes of nature as a quiet keeper of memory, mystery, and resilience—ideas shaped by his upbringing in Virginia and long career in the rural landscapes of North Carolina.

Biography of John Wade

John Wade (born 1947, Charlottesville, Virginia) is an American printmaker recognized for merging traditional intaglio with early photo-emulsion processes at a time when such combinations were rarely used in fine-art studios. His work bridges technical illustration, regionalist landscape traditions, and mid-century experimental printmaking.

Wade earned his BA from Elon College, followed by an Associate of Applied Arts degree from the Technical College of Alamance with an emphasis on illustration and print processes. From 1967 to 1971, he served in the U.S. Army as an illustrator, developing the precision and observational clarity that define his later etchings.

In 1977, Wade opened his own printmaking studio in North Carolina, establishing it as an experimental laboratorywhere he refined hybrid techniques:
• photo-emulsion on copper plates
• multi-plate tonal etching
• aquatint overlays
• low-relief photographic transfer methods

Wade’s influences include American rural realism, 19th-century etchers, early photographic intaglio, and technical drafting. His signature themes—barns, storms, wildflowers, natural textures—combine the real and the subtly surreal, evoking place, atmosphere, and memory. His prints have earned regional awards and appear in numerous private and institutional collections in the U.S. and abroad.

Nature’s Secret reflects Wade’s botanical imagery, where intimate natural subjects are heightened through controlled light, shadow, and the soft diffusion made possible by photo-sensitive emulsions.

John Wade, Nature’s Secret, 1970s. Emulsion etching on paper, 11×15 in. Signed, titled, and numbered 42/80. Warm sepia palette with excellent tonal depth.

CERTIFICATE OF VALUE & AUTHENTICATION
Artist: John Wade (b. 1947)
Title: Nature’s Secret
Date: 1970s
Medium: Emulsion Etching (Photo-Emulsion + Intaglio)
Paper Size: 11 × 15 inches
Edition: 42/80
Signature: Hand-signed, titled, and numbered in graphite
Authenticity: Verified based on signature, edition style, oval plate characteristics, and Wade’s known emulsion-etching technique from this period.
Current Owner: Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC

This print is certified as an authentic original work by John Wade.

Provenance Chain

1. Artist’s Studio, North Carolina – 1970s

2. Private Collector, NYC

3. Artfind Gallery, Washington, DC – current owner