From:Williamson Art Gallery and Museum

Name/TitleActs

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 Acts, which recounts the founding of the Christian church. The gallery has a woodblock and a print of this design in its collection.

MakerHawthorn, Raymond (1917-1997)

Maker Roleengraver

Period20th century

Medium and Materialswatercolour on paper

Style and Iconographyreligious

Inscription and Marks"Rough for acts of the apostles"
"Raymond Hawthorn"
"(illegible)/8".

Techniquewatercolour

Measurementswatercolour height: 9cm
watercolour width: 11cm
mount height: 12cm
mounted width: 18cm.

Subject and Association KeywordsChristianity

Subject and Association Keywordsapostles

Subject and Association Keywordsboat

Subject and Association Keywordsstar

Subject and Association Keywordschurch

Credit LinePresented by Mark R. Hammer, 2026

Object Typewatercolour

Object numberBIKGM.9380

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved