Koson's vast output of ~450 designs spans birds, flowers, fish, insects, and occasional landscapes. While his large production keeps most prints accessible, early Kokkeido-period impressions with muted, elegant Meiji-era coloring are distinctly more sought after than the brighter later Watanabe editions.
A group of pigeons in their familiar urban setting — perhaps roosting on a ledge or pecking at grain on a courtyard floor, the most everyday of birds treated with the same formal attention that Koson brought to rare species. His pigeon prints are exercises in the beauty of the commonplace: the iridescent sheen of the neck feathers, the soft grey of the body, the alert, slightly indignant expression of the bird in repose. Produced between 1900 and 1945, this print could belong to any phase of his long career.
Woodblock print
1928
Color lithograph
1930
Color lithograph
1948
Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Pigeons was created by Ohara Koson (小原古邨) in c. 1900–1945.
Pigeons was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (c. 1900–1945).
Pigeons depicts urban scenes, birds & flowers, and animals.
