From:Williamson Art Gallery and Museum
Name/TitlePaul's Letters from Prison
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 Paul's letters written when he was imprisoned in Rome, titled Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon. These letters explore themes of Christian unity and the cosmic power of God. The gallery also holds 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"unfixed watercolour"
"Raymond Hawthorn"
"Paul's letters from prison (Houlden)"
Techniquewatercolour
Measurementswatercolour height: 9cm
watercolour width: 11cm
mount height: 26cm
mount width 16cm
Subject and Association KeywordsChristianity
Subject and Association KeywordsPaul the Apostle
Subject and Association Keywordsprison
Subject and Association Keywordsstar
Subject and Association Keywordsscroll
Credit LinePresented by Mark R. Hammer, 2026
Object Typewatercolour
Object numberBIKGM.9385
Copyright LicenceAll rights reserved
