Crawhall watercolour acquired for the nation on display in Edinburgh

A watercolour by one of the Glasgow Boys – the collection of radical young painters who represent the beginnings of modernism in Scottish painting – has been added to the national collection.

Joseph Crawhall’s Cock Pheasant with Foliage and Berries is now on display at Edinburgh’s National Gallery, with the 1906 painting being an example of the artist’s distinctive watercolours of animals and birds.

The painting adds to the around 40 of his works, which includes sketches and illustrated letters exchanged with other Glasgow Boys, and curators said the latest painting illustrates the artist’s passion for wildlife.

Among his other works housed at the museum, it joins The White Drake.

Cock Pheasant with Foliage and Berries was acquired for the taxpayer by the Acceptance in Lieu scheme, with the £42,000 painting allowing the previous owner to help settle an income tax bill by transferring items like important paintings to the nation.

The painting depicts a pheasant sitting elegantly among berries, proudly puffing out its chest, and museum staff said the work expertly captures the essence and character of the bird by embracing the quirks of his chosen material.

The experts at the museum said this includes using the colour, weave and surface finish of the linen to influence the overall effect of the painting.

Using bodycolour – which is watercolour mixed with white pigment to make it opaque – he plays with light, adding sheen to the berries and the pheasant’s head.

Charlotte Topsfield, senior curator of British drawings and prints at National Galleries of Scotland, said they were “elated” to have acquired the artwork.

“Crawhall’s work was hugely popular with Scottish collectors, notably Sir William Burrell,” she said.

“Both The White Drake and Cock Pheasant with Foliage and Berries were originally part of the outstanding collection of the Paisley thread manufacturer William Allan Coats.

“Reunited at the National, these two outstanding watercolours demonstrate the evolution of Crawhall’s technique and his uncanny ability to capture the beauty of animals and birds.”

Crawhall was known as a key figure in the Glasgow Boys, a group who rebelled against what was seen as the stuffy Edinburgh-based arts establishment, instead painting subjects drawn from everyday life.

Unlike most of the other Glasgow Boys, Crawhall specialised in watercolours and was the only member of the group to focus on painting animals.