Details
The image
An owl drawn frontally, eyes set wide, feathers reduced to repeated marks, the branch beneath it barely described. The colour is flat and the outline firm, so the bird reads as a sign from across a room and only becomes an animal when you stand close.
Where it comes from
Birds of prey were a staple of natural history printing and of advertising alike: the owl carried associations with knowledge and with the night, which made it useful to schools, libraries and printers. The sheets were made to work on a wall and in a catalogue, which is why the drawing is so undecorated.
On the wall
It suits a study, a library corner or a child’s room, where a single animal with a strong face can carry a wall. Because the palette is limited, it tolerates dark furniture and strong wall colours. In a group it should be the piece that looks back at the viewer.
In company
For a larger wall, the Vintage collection supplies the rest of the arrangement.Avoid hanging it beside a second frontal portrait, two gazes on one wall compete rather than converse and the bird needs a wall where light falls evenly.
