1838
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
White-Legged Oyster-Catcher and Slender-Billed Oyster-Catcher is a 1838 ink by Robert Havell Jr., a Romanticism work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This picture shows two birds perched on a rocky shore. One stands tall with bright red legs and a long beak, while the other lies curled up beside it. The background is a simple sky, and the rocks have tiny shells and seaweed drawn on them. The artist used careful lines to show the birds’ feathers in detail. The colors are flat but precise, with no shading—just solid blocks of black, brown, and red. Next, check out how engraving works to see how artists create sharp, clean images like this.
The Havell family of Reading, Berkshire, England, included a number of notable engravers, etchers and painters, as well as writers, publishers, educators, and musicians.
See the richer artist page
