Sir John Everett Millais Bt. PRA, Study of four rooks for 'Christmas Eve 1887'.
Pen and ink with gouache, charcoal and pencil on thick buff coloured wove card. 260 mm x 388 mm. © Photo: Royal Academy of Arts, London. Photographer: John Hammond.
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Study of four rooks for 'Christmas Eve 1887'
Sir John Everett Millais Bt. PRA (1829 - 1896)
RA Collection: Art
These drawings are preparatory studies for Millais's atmospheric Scottish landscape painting 'Christmas Eve, 1887'. The birds can be seen in the foreground of this snowy scene near Murthly Moss in Perthshire, where the Millais family rented a house between 1881-91. The drawings are not particularly similar to other late sketches by Millais and may have been made for the artist by his son, John Guille Millais.
These drawings are preparatory studies for Millais's atmospheric Scottish landscape painting Christmas Eve, 1887. The birds can be seen in the foreground of this snowy scene painted near Murthly Moss in Perthshire, where the Millais family rented a house between 1881-91. However, the style is not particularly similar to other examples of Millais's late drawings and it is possible that they were drawn by his son, John Guille Millais, a naturalist and wildlife artist.
Object details
recto
260 mm x 388 mm
verso
388 mm x 260 mm
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