Owls in Art: A 32,000-Year Survey from Chauvet to Wyeth
An article from DailyArt Magazine explores the representation of owls in art over a span of 32,000 years, beginning with the Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave drawing (32,000–30,000 BCE) and concluding with Jamie Wyeth's painting from 2020. It highlights 15 significant pieces, including a Greek relief of Athena accompanied by an owl (circa 450 BCE, Walters Art Museum), an Egyptian trial artifact (British Museum), Hieronymus Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights (1503–1515, Museo del Prado), Albrecht Dürer's Little Owl (1508, Albertina), Louis Wain's Moonlight Sonata (circa 1900–1910, Victoria and Albert Museum), and Frida Kahlo's The Bride Frightened at Seeing Life Opened (1943, Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection). The article also delves into the owl's varied symbolism: representing wisdom in Greece, death in Egypt, and mystery in Bosch's works.
Key facts
- Chauvet-Pont-d'Arc Cave contains an owl drawing dated 32,000–30,000 BCE.
- Athena with an Owl, ca. 450 BCE, is at the Walters Art Museum.
- Egyptian owl relief from the Ptolemaic period is at the British Museum.
- Bosch's The Garden of Earthly Delights (1503–1515) is at the Museo del Prado.
- Dürer's Little Owl (1508) is at the Albertina in Vienna.
- Wain's Moonlight Sonata (ca. 1900–1910) is at the Victoria and Albert Museum.
- Kahlo's The Bride Frightened at Seeing Life Opened (1943) is in the Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection.
- Varo's The Creation of Birds (1957) is at the Museo de Arte Moderno in Mexico City.
- Abercrombie's Owl with Eggs (1963) is in a private collection.
- Hsiung Ping-Ming's Owl (ca. 1958) is at the National Gallery of Art.
- Martins' Owl House (1945–1978) is in Nieu-Bethesda, South Africa.
- Picasso's Mat-Wood Owl (1958) is in a private collection.
- Friedrich's Owl on a Tree (1834) is in a private collection.
- Obata's Owl Study (ca. 1930–1960) is in a private collection.
- Wyeth's Snow Owl (2020) is in the Phyllis and Jamie Wyeth Collection.
Entities
Artists
- Hieronymus Bosch
- Albrecht Dürer
- Louis Wain
- Frida Kahlo
- Remedios Varo
- Gertrude Abercrombie
- Hsiung Ping-Ming
- Helen Martins
- Pablo Picasso
- Caspar David Friedrich
- Chiura Obata
- Jamie Wyeth
- Koos Malgas
- N.C. Wyeth
- Andrew Wyeth
Institutions
- Carnegie Museum of Natural History
- Walters Art Museum
- British Museum
- Museo del Prado
- Albertina
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection
- Portland Museum of Art
- Museo de Arte Moderno
- National Gallery of Art
- Brandywine Museum of Art
- Ralston Gallery
- Artists Rights Society (ARS)
- DailyArt Magazine
Locations
- Chauvet Cave
- Ardèche
- France
- Baltimore
- Maryland
- USA
- London
- UK
- Madrid
- Spain
- Vienna
- Austria
- Mexico City
- Mexico
- Washington, DC
- Nieu-Bethesda
- South Africa
- California
- Yosemite
- Monhegan Island