Artwork
Esquimaux Curlew
Esquimaux Curlew is an ink print by the Romanticist artist Robert Havell Jr.. It dates from 1834 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1834, *Esquimaux Curlew* is a hand‑coloured engraving combined with aquatint, executed on fine Whatman wove paper. The print presents two curlews—a male in flight and a female on the ground—set against a modest landscape of grass, rocks and a shallow watercourse, rendered in muted browns, tans, greens and blues.
Subject & Meaning
The work illustrates a curlew, a long‑legged wading bird, with attention to gender differences: the male is shown soaring low with a curved bill, while the female is perched. The naturalistic portrayal aligns with 19th‑century scientific illustration, emphasizing accurate anatomy and habitat rather than allegorical content.
Technique & Style
The image combines line engraving with aquatint, a tonal method that the Havell family refined. After the copper plate was etched, the artist applied colour by hand, achieving smooth gradations and fine detail characteristic of contemporary ornithological prints.
History & Provenance
Robert Havell Jr., son of the noted engraver Robert Havell the Elder, produced the print within a family workshop renowned for its contributions to printmaking and for publishing natural history volumes. The Havells were also involved in the diffusion of Indian artistic motifs, though this particular work focuses on a North‑American bird.
Context
During the early 1830s, European naturalists commissioned detailed illustrations for scientific publications. Prints like *Esquimaux Curlew* served both as visual records for scholars and as decorative objects for collectors interested in the expanding knowledge of wildlife.
Legacy
The Havell family's expertise in aquatint helped set standards for later natural history illustration. Their prints remain reference points for the technical possibilities of hand‑coloured engraving before the advent of photographic reproduction.
Artist & collection
Artist
The Havell family of Reading, Berkshire, England, included a number of notable engravers, etchers and painters, as well as writers, publishers, educators, and musicians.
