From:Williamson Art Gallery and Museum

Name/TitleSt. Mark

About this objectRaymond Hawthorn (1917-1997) was a British wood engraver and printmaker. Born in Dorset in 1917, he studied art at the Coventry School of Art from 1935-9 and Hornsey School of Art from 1939-40. He was local to the Wirral, being a member of the Wirral Society of Arts and a teacher at the Laird School of Art. Throughout his career, he created collections of engravings to be used as illustrations in books, for example, Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, trans. Richard Aldington, 1962), The Life of Alexander the Great (trans. Aubrey de Sélincourt, 1970) and, The Rise and Fall of Athens (Ian Scott-Kilvert, 1967). His artistic process involved engraving woodblocks for prints as well as watercolour paintings. His work is complex, detailed and uses a monochrome palette. This design comes from a collection made for a Pelican Edition of Commentaries on the New Testament published in the late 20th century.

This watercolour depicts events from the Gospel of St. Mark, which focuses on depicting Jesus as a miracle worker and healer who is both the Son of God and the Son of Man. There is also a woodblock and a woodblock print of this design in the gallery's collection.

MakerHawthorn, Raymond (1917-1997)

Maker Roleengraver

Period20th century

Medium and Materialswatercolour on paper

Style and Iconographyreligious

Inscription and Marks"Illustration to the idea contained in the middle paragraph on page 37 of the Pelican edition of D.E. Nineham's "St. Mark".
"The Gospel divides fairly sharply into two parts,..."
"On the left of the design, down to 8(26): - emphasis largely on miraculous deeds...directed to the crowd."
"On the right, from 8(31): - Jesus' teaching mainly directed to the disciples, and it assumes knowledge of Jesus' Messiahship.."

Techniquewatercolour

Measurementswatercolour height: 9cm
watercolour width: 11cm
mount height: 24cm
mount width: 17cm.

Subject and Association KeywordsChristianity

Subject and Association Keywordsmiracle

Subject and Association Keywordsbird

Subject and Association Keywordsst. Mark

Credit LinePresented by Mark R. Hammer, 2026

Object Typewatercolour

Object numberBIKGM.9379

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved