1850
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Dominant colour
Velvet Duck is a 1850 ink by British 19th Century, a Romanticism work, depicting Duck, held at National Gallery of Art.
This hand-colored etching shows a duck floating on calm water, its feathers sharp and velvety. The artist added text below describing the bird and its habits. Back then, artists often mixed science with art in books about nature. Look closely at the paper—it’s rough, not smooth. That tells us it was printed on thick stock, meant to last. Try an etching by Thomas Bewick next.
This artist’s short life left behind a quiet obsession with water—whether the churn of a mill wheel, the choppy waves off England’s south coast, or the way light bounces off pond lilies.
See the richer artist page
