From:Williamson Art Gallery and Museum

Name/TitleBook of Revelation

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 Revelation, which include the figures of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse who appear at the Second Coming. These are Conquest / Pestilence riding a white horse holding a bow, War riding a red horse holding a sword, Famine riding a black horse holding the Scales of Justice and Death riding a pale horse holding a trident. A woodblock and watercolour of this design are also in the gallery's collection.

MakerHawthorn, Raymond (1917-1997)

Maker Roleengraver

Period20th century

Medium and Materialswatercolour on paper

Style and Iconographyreligious

Inscription and Marks"unfixed watercolour"
"rough to be engraved s/s"
"Book of Revelation (alternative idea)"
"Raymond Hawthorn".

Techniquewatercolour

Measurementswatercolour height: 9cm
watercolour width:11cm
mount height: 26cm
mount width: 16cm

Subject and Association KeywordsChristianity

Subject and Association Keywordsfour horsemen of the apocalypse

Subject and Association Keywordswar

Subject and Association Keywordsdeath

Credit LinePresented by Mark R. Hammer, 2026

Object Typewatercolour

Object numberBIKGM.9383

Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved