A Pigeon and Magpie

Artist William Gouw Ferguson (Scotland, c.1632 - 1695)

Date1685

Mediumoil on canvas

ClassificationsPaintings And Drawings

DimensionsOverall: Height: 59.5 cm, Width: 50.6 cm
Frame: Height: 71.7 cm, Width: 62.2 cm

AcquisitionPurchased in 1969 with assistance from the National Fund for Acquisitions and the National Art Collections Fund.

CopyrightOut of copyright - CC0

LocationOn Display - Gallery 07

Object numberABDAG002357

Keywords

About MeWilliam Gouw Ferguson was renowned as a painter of still-lifes. His speciality was arrangements of dead game in the style of the Dutch painters such as Jan Weenix. He settled in the Netherlands, living in Utrecht, the Hague and then Amsterdam. Still-life painting had emerged in Holland and Gouw Ferguson's paintings are some of the earliest examples by a Scottish artist in this genre.

Falconry was a popular sport in the 17th century and this painting shows the fruits of a hawking expedition, a dead pigeon and magpie suspended from a nail along with a hawk's hood.

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This is one of many still-lifes with bird and fowl that Scottish-born artist Gouw-Ferguson painted. His style of realism, darker backgrounds and almost subjects is strongly reminiscent of Dutch painters at the time.

Exhibitions

Gallery 07 - Exploring Art