The AGA has in its collection holdings 830 wood engravings by British artist Thomas Bewick that he created with his apprentices in the late 18th century. The images, referred to by Bewick as “tale-pieces,” are illustrations for publications printed circa 1797 in Newcastle upon Tyne. They include vignettes of British life and imagined studies of animals and fowl created using the methodology of classifications systems of the day, referencing natural history documentation practices. The illustrations were divided into categories for publication: A General History of Quadrupeds and A History of British Birds, which were reprinted numerous times due to their popularity. This exhibition features a selection of images representing both categories of Quadrupeds and British Birds.
The images are fascinating in the technical execution of the small illustrations, and because many were created from the imagination of the artist based on descriptions from expedition reports and second-hand descriptions. These references to the imagined exotic, combined with the compositional references to scientific illustration, give the images contemporary relevance.
The Thomas Bewick collection was gifted to the AGA in 1990 by Dr. David Lemon. Former Edmonton Art Gallery Director, Roger Boulet, prepared research on the Bewick collection that exists today as an internet-based publication.