Blue Jays (1875)

Dated 1875, "Blue Jays" is an artwork by Henry Walker Herrick. The catalogue places it in Plants & Animals. The format is portrait. Plants & Animals in brief: Images of plants and animals are valued both for the care of their observation and for their decorative appeal. Images of plants and animals run from medieval herbals and bestiaries to the scientific illustration of the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries. Context for 1875: Japanese prints reached Europe in large numbers and influenced many artists, while photography changed what painting needed to do. In the 1890s, colour lithography and Art Nouveau made the illustrated poster a celebrated art form.

"Blue Jays" is offered as a printable file (Digital JPEG + PDF files, 300 DPI) rather than a shipped item. You receive the files by email after payment and handle printing yourself, which gives you full control over paper, size, and finish. A portrait format suits narrow wall spaces, hallways, and the area beside a door or window. Measuring the wall before choosing a size is the simplest way to avoid a print that feels too small or too large. Screens and printers render colour differently, so a small test print is a sensible way to check tones before committing to a large size. Matte and fine-art papers reduce glare in bright rooms, while glossy papers give stronger contrast and deeper blacks. Hang the print away from direct sunlight, which over the years can fade any printed colour.

American, 1824–1906

If you like the visual language of Henry Walker Herrick, explore more works by the same artist in our collection.