From:Williamson Art Gallery and Museum

Name/TitleRomans

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 the events from Romans, which outlines the Gospels as God's righteous power to save both Jesus and Gentiles through Christian faith. The anchor is possibly a symbol representing steadfast hope, and the olive branch represents peace and reconciliation. The gallery also 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"New Testament Commentaries: watercolour rough for ROMANS".
"Raymond Hawthorn".

Techniquewatercolour

Measurementswatercolour height: 9cm
watercolour width: 11cm
mount height: 15cm
mount width: 16cm

Subject and Association KeywordsChristianity

Subject and Association Keywordsscroll

Subject and Association Keywordsolive branch

Subject and Association KeywordsRomans gospel

Credit LinePresented by Mark R. Hammer, 2026

Object Typewatercolour

Object numberBIKGM.9381

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved