Frederick Stuart Church (1842-1924) was an artist/illustrator best known for his depictions of animals. Church often presented animals in their natural environment, but was also fond of using them in allegorical scenes. One such work is this pen and ink drawing from 1881, The Witch’s Daughter.
Deciphering an allegory isn’t always easy, particularly given the differing views and attitudes between one time period and another. This could depict the Witch’s daughter seated next to her mother (who is in the form of an owl), but I’m more inclined to interpret this as a statement on the unavoidable influence exerted by negative familial associations. I can’t believe I just said that…
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I just bought an etching by Church at an antique store for 21.00 of a tiger and a little bird. Imagine my surprise when I StumbledUpon this blog.
Sounds like a great find! Any chance of your sending a scan of that etching?