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Topics

Birds

  • Summary
Nenes on Mauna Loa, Hawaii
© the artist's estate. Image credit: The Sir Peter Scott Art Collection

Nenes on Mauna Loa, Hawaii

Peter Markham Scott (1909–1989)

The Sir Peter Scott Art Collection

Birds have fascinated artists for centuries: they were symbols of the soul in ancient Egypt. Many species have different meanings in different religions and cultures and thus in art also. It was a dove that bought good tidings to Noah in the ark and became a Christian symbol for the Holy Spirit, announcing to Mary that she would bear the Son of God. The dove is still a symbol of peace. The peacock can represent pride, but is also a Christian symbol of immortality and the Resurrection.


Read more

The ability of birds to sing makes them attractive as caged and domesticated animals, often seen in Renaissance and seventeenth-century interiors. They can also symbolise the caged beauty of female members of the family.

Artworks

  • Untitled
    Untitled Maggi Hambling (b.1945)
    Southampton City Art Gallery
  • Study, Eggshells
    Study, Eggshells Ethel Guymer (1894?–1978?)
    Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art, mima
  • An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump
    An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump Joseph Wright of Derby (1734–1797)
    The National Gallery, London
  • Bird and Sandspit
    Bird and Sandspit Milton Avery (1885–1965)
    The Fitzwilliam Museum
  • Herring Fishing
    Herring Fishing William Garthwaite (1821–1899)
    Shipley Art Gallery
  • Village Scene
    Village Scene Theobald Michau (1676–1765) (attributed to)
    Shipley Art Gallery
  • Tamarisk Tree, Lake Como
    Tamarisk Tree, Lake Como Sigismund Christian Hubert Goetze (1866–1939)
    The Fitzwilliam Museum
  • 1,321 more

Stories

  • Edward McGuire’s portrait of Seamus Heaney

    Stefani Bednarova

  • Flying colours: a look at birds in art

    Anita Sethi

  • Charles Tunnicliffe in the studio
    Charles Tunnicliffe: an artist of countryside and nature

    Ian Jones

  • The Guy Taplin swan after restoration
    How to restore a Guy Taplin sculpture: the Fine Art Restoration Company at work

    Fine Art Restoration Company

  • Our precious birds: a proposition for art lovers and birdwatchers

    Carla Benzan

  • Where are the sea slugs? Wild Isles in art

    Samuel Shaw

  • Frank Bowling's 'Big Bird' at Victoria Gallery & Museum, Liverpool

    Andrew Graham-Dixon

  • Morris, Lett-Haines and Rubio the parrot
    Revealing nature: Cedric Morris and Arthur Lett-Haines

    Pat Hardy

  • Natural instinct: the graphic and sculptural skill of Gertrude Hermes

    Jane Hill

  • Hans Holbein's 'A Lady with a Squirrel and a Starling (Anne Lovell?)'

    Susan Foister

  • Here comes the goose! Elizabeth Siddal's strangely sapphic sentinels

    Nat Reeve

  • Field work among a colony of gentoo penguins on South Georgia
    Painting penguins on the island of South Georgia

    John Gale

  • Saleem Arif Quadri in his London studio, February 2025
    Faith, heritage and negative space: an interview with Saleem Arif Quadri

    Hassan Vawda

  • Falling leaves and days growing short: autumnal artworks

    Anita Sethi

Learning resources

  • aerie-preview-1.jpg
    Audio
    Audio description of 'Aerie' by Lizzie Farey
    • KS5 (ENG)
      KS5 (NI)
      CfE Sen. (SCO)
      KS5 (WAL)
      KS4 (ENG)
      KS4 (NI)
      CfE L4 (SCO)
      KS4 (WAL)
  • lcws-es-jrw-jf68-001-1.jpg
    Lesson plan
    Design and make a winged sculpture
    • KS3 (ENG)
      KS3 (NI)
      CfE L3 (SCO)
      CfE L4 (SCO)
      KS3 (WAL)
      KS4 (ENG)
      KS4 (WAL)
      KS4 (NI)
      CfE Sen. (SCO)
  • lw-wmos-t13-002-1.jpg
    Lesson plan
    Pattern and identity: William Morris's 'Strawberry Thief'
    • KS3 (ENG)
      KS3 (NI)
      CfE L3 (SCO)
      CfE L4 (SCO)
      KS4 (ENG)
  • wt-abstract-tiger-1.jpg
    Round-up
    Wild things: animals, birds and insects
    • KS1 (ENG)
      KS1 (NI)
      CfE L1 (SCO)
      PS2 (WAL)
      KS2 (ENG)
      KS2 (NI)
      CfE L2 (SCO)
      PS3 (WAL)
      KS3 (ENG)
      KS3 (NI)
      CfE L3 (SCO)
      CfE L4 (SCO)
      KS3 (WAL)
  • tame-buzzard-line-1.jpg
    Video
    HENI Talks x ARTiculation: ‘Tame Buzzard Line’ by Richard Long
    • KS3 (ENG)
      CfE L3 (SCO)
      CfE L4 (SCO)
      KS3 (WAL)
      KS3 (NI)
      KS4 (ENG)
      KS4 (NI)
      CfE Sen. (SCO)
      KS4 (WAL)
      KS5 (ENG)
      CfE Sen. (SCO)
      KS5 (WAL)
  • screenshot-2022-11-11-at-08-50-45-1.jpg
    Video
    Sculpture in focus: 'Gift of Life – Rhodd o Fywyd' by Hospital Art Studio
    • KS2 (ENG)
      KS2 (NI)
      CfE L2 (SCO)
      PS3 (WAL)
      KS3 (ENG)
      KS3 (NI)
      CfE L3 (SCO)
      KS3 (WAL)

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® is a registered trade mark of the Public Catalogue Foundation.
Art UK is the operating name of the Public Catalogue Foundation, a charity registered in England and Wales (1096185) and Scotland (SC048601).