Donald Watson Bird Artist and Writer

As a teenager in the 1970s, I saw Donald Watson’s work every month alongside a birdwatching column by Bruce Campbell in Wildlife magazine. That article was the first thing I turned to and I loved Watson’s distinctive scraperboard style of illustration. He captured the features of each bird so effectively. However, some younger readers may not be aware of his work as one of our finest bird artists of the last century. That is because he died 20 years ago, and most of his work was created in the 1960s-1990s. This book is a celebration of his life as both an artist and dedicated field ornithologist.

Using a series of biographical essays written by those who knew him well, the book covers all aspects of Donald Watson's life from childhood through to his death in 2005. Each person brings in a different aspect of his life. The innermost view of his family life is told by his daughter, Louise. As one of four children she saw a different aspect of his work as he strove to generate enough income for a relatively large family. His success grew with the publication of the Oxford Book of Birds in 1965 (another collaboration with Campbell), which saw his art reaching a wider audience. It was a great book, and you can find copies today for about £5 if you search. Watson’s son Jeff became a world expert on the Golden Eagle but died only two years after his father. His widow Vanessa tells the story of how Donald’s guidance helped to shape Jeff’s future career as a professional ornithologist.

Although he was born in Surrey in 1918, Watson’s parents moved the family to Edinburgh, and apart from time at university in Oxford and military service in India and Burma, his life was centred around Scotland and its wildlife. His first bird illustrations were created at the age of five and living in Surrey he was lucky to meet and be influenced by Archibald Thorburn, whose early life had been in Scotland. If you know Thorburn’s work, you’ll immediately see the influence in Watson’s style. This is acknowledged by bird artist John Threlfall, who contributes a chapter on Watson’s artistic contributions. Although personally I am attracted to the scraperboard works, he worked predominantly in colour using gouache rather than oils. Some of his most evocative works were of impressive landscapes with just one or two birds (often raptors) soaring in the distance. Indeed, his love of raptors, and Hen Harriers in particular, feature regularly in this book.

Chris Rollie contributes a chapter on Watson’s commitment to furthering nature conservation and raptor studies. This is further enhanced by Des Thompson and Colin Galbraith who catalogue the precarious existence of the Hen Harrier in the UK and the influence that Watson’s monograph on the species had on those who have studied it since. Finally, Roger Crofts provides a catalogue of Watson’s works as seen through a significant haul of books, both authored by Watson and others where he simply provided the artwork. He also assesses Watson’s contribution to nature conservation and plans to ensure that his legacy continues.