Watercolour on silk
Tate Collection
Works with images
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Collection
<a href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/joseph-crawhall-957" aria-label="More by Joseph Crawhall" data-gtm-name="header_link_artist" data-gtm-destination="page--artist">Joseph Crawhall</a>
Dove
Purchased 1982
animals: birds
architecture
bowl
bush
cage
dove
flower
garden
garden structures
miscellaneous
objects
perch
plants and flowers
vessels and containers
<p>Crawhall painted birds of all varieties, from pigeons and magpies to pheasants and Chinese geese. In general he preferred to depict them in their natural habitat, as in <i>A Mallard Rising</i> (<i>c</i>.1908, private collection), but occasionally he would paint birds in captivity. <i>The Aviary, Clifton </i>(1888, The Burrell Collection, Glasgow), one of Crawhall's finest works, is another rare example of a picture which features caged birds. Crawhall's sister Elspeth noted that her brother 'loved animals and would not use them for base purposes for he respected their individuality too much' (quoted in Hamilton 1990, p.123). Unlike many Victorian artists, Crawhall avoided the sentimental depiction of birds and animals, and was interested in capturing their essence in a spontaneous and often witty manner. A gifted caricaturist, he could convey a creature's individual character with a few strokes of his pen or brush. As his contemporary, John Lavery (1856-1940), remarked, 'In a few lines he could sketch an animal, making it more recognisable than the most candid camera could do - and this from memory' (Lavery, <i>The Life of a Painter</i>, London 1940, p.82). Although born and brought up in Morpeth, Crawhall was a leading member of the Glasgow Boys, whose early work is strongly realist in style and subject matter. However, by the 1890s they had adopted a more decorative approach and, as Adrian Bury notes, this picture is 'more symbolical than realistic, in [that] the bird is subordinated to the design as a whole' (Bury 1958, p.119). Crawhall contrasts the vertical bars of the cage with the horizontals of the perch, the feeding dish and the dove itself, which appears hunched up and subdued. At the same time he softens the grid-like design through the varied colours and tones and the half-dry brush effect. The artist has clearly worked rapidly, drawing freehand lines with a casual deftness. From an early date Crawhall specialised in watercolours and he most often painted in gouache on a linen support. In <i>The Dove</i> the warm Holland linen provides the background colour to the picture. The calligraphic handling and economy of line reflect Crawhall's interest in Oriental art, as do the Japanese-style blossoms outside the cage. <b>Further reading:</b>Adrian Bury, <i>Joseph Crawhall, the Man and the Artist</i>, London 1958, p.76, reproduced p.119.Vivien Hamilton, <i>Joseph Crawhall</i>, Glasgow 1990, p.126. Frances Fowle4 December 2000</p>
painting watercolour silk
The Dove
support: 241 × 305 mm
Purchased 1982
<p>Crawhall painted birds of all varieties, from pigeons and magpies to pheasants and Chinese geese.  In general he preferred to depict them in their natural habitat, as in <i>A Mallard Rising</i> (<i>c</i>.1908, private collection), but occasionally he would paint birds in captivity. <i>The Aviary, Clifton </i>(1888, The Burrell Collection, Glasgow), one of Crawhall's finest works, is another rare example of a picture which features caged birds. Crawhall's sister Elspeth noted that her brother 'loved animals and would not use them for base purposes for he respected their individuality too much' (quoted in Hamilton 1990, p.123). Unlike many <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/v/victorian" title="Glossary definition for 'Victorian'"><span>Victorian</span></a> artists, Crawhall avoided the sentimental depiction of birds and animals, and was interested in capturing their essence in a spontaneous and often witty manner. A gifted <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/c/caricature" title="Glossary definition for 'Caricature'"><span>caricaturist</span></a>, he could convey a creature's individual character with a few strokes of his pen or brush. As his contemporary, John Lavery (1856-1940), remarked, 'In a few lines he could sketch an animal, making it more recognisable than the most candid camera could do - and this from memory' (Lavery, <i>The Life of a Painter</i>, London 1940, p.82).

</p><p>Although born and brought up in Morpeth, Crawhall was a leading member of the <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/g/glasgow-school" title="Glossary definition for 'Glasgow School'"><span>Glasgow Boys</span></a>, whose early work is strongly <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/r/realism" title="Glossary definition for 'Realism'"><span>realist</span></a> in style and subject matter. However, by the 1890s they had adopted a more decorative approach and, as Adrian Bury notes, this picture is 'more symbolical than realistic, in [that] the bird is subordinated to the design as a whole' (Bury 1958, p.119). Crawhall contrasts the vertical bars of the cage with the horizontals of the perch, the feeding dish and the dove itself, which appears hunched up and subdued. At the same time he softens the grid-like design through the varied colours and <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/t/tone" title="Glossary definition for 'Tone'"><span>tones</span></a> and the half-dry brush effect. The artist has clearly worked rapidly, <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/d/drawing" title="Glossary definition for 'Drawing'"><span>drawing</span></a> freehand lines with a casual deftness. From an early date Crawhall specialised in <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/w/watercolour" title="Glossary definition for 'Watercolour'"><span>watercolours</span></a> and he most often painted in <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/g/gouache" title="Glossary definition for 'Gouache'"><span>gouache</span></a> on a linen support. In <i>The Dove</i> the warm Holland linen provides the background colour to the picture. The calligraphic handling and economy of line reflect Crawhall's interest in Oriental art, as do the Japanese-style blossoms outside the cage. 

</p><p><b>Further reading:</b><br/>Adrian Bury, <i>Joseph Crawhall, the Man and the Artist</i>, London 1958, p.76, reproduced p.119.<br/>Vivien Hamilton, <i>Joseph Crawhall</i>, Glasgow 1990, p.126.

</p><p>Frances Fowle<br/>4 December 2000 </p>
Summary
2005-09-15T00:00:00
summary
SHORT_TEXT
<p><b>N03680</b> THE DOVE <i>c.</i> 1895
<br/> 
<br/>Inscr. ‘J. Crawhall’ t.l.
<br/>Gouache on holland (linen) stitched to card, irregular, 9 1/2×12 (24×30).
<br/>Purchased from John Craig Annan through T. &amp; R. Annan &amp; Sons (Clarke Fund) 1922.
<br/><i>Coll:</i> Fred Rowntree, York, who purchased it either direct from the artist or through T. &amp; R. Annan &amp; Sons in the late 1890s (letter from Colin Rowntree, 1 June 1960).
<br/><i>Lit:</i>
Adrian Bury, <i>Joseph Crawhall: The Man and the Artist</i>, 1958, p.76, repr. p.119, pl.27.
<br/><i>Repr:</i> V. &amp; A., <i>Twentieth Century British Watercolours</i>, 1958, pl.5.</p>
<p>Adrian Bury wrote (<i>op. cit.</i>) that it was difficult to determine what <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/w/watercolour" title="Glossary definition for 'Watercolour'"><span>watercolours</span></a> were done by Crawhall in the last decade of his life, although it seemed certain that ‘The Dove’, along with three <a class="glossarylinktopopup" data-gtm-destination="article-page" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="http://www.tate.org.uk/learn/online-resources/glossary/p/painting" title="Glossary definition for 'Painting'"><span>paintings</span></a> in the Burrell Collection, ‘Chinese Goose’, ‘The Rook's Nest’ and ‘Circus Rider’ were late works, dating from 1902 to 1907. He noted that <a class="acno-pop" data-gtm-destination="page--artwork" data-gtm-name="body_text_link" href="https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/crawhall-the-dove-n03680" title="View the details of this artwork"><span>N03680</span></a> was ‘a late work, more symbolical than realistic, in which the bird is subordinated to the design as a whole’ (<i>op. cit.</i>, p.119). However, the date must be earlier than he supposed, since this work was purchased in the late 1890s.</p>
<p><b>Published in:</b>
<br/>Mary Chamot, Dennis Farr and Martin Butlin, <i>The Modern British Paintings, Drawings and Sculpture</i>, London 1964, I</p>
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Catalogue entry
2004-10-05T00:00:00
catalogue-entry
CATALOGUE_ENTRY
animals: birds architecture bowl bush cage dove flower garden garden structures miscellaneous objects perch plants and flowers vessels and containers