January: Twelve Months of Flowers
Date1749
Maker
John Bowles
(1701 - 1779)
After work by
Robert Furber
(c. 1674 - 1756)
OriginEngland, London
MediumLine engraving and etching with hand color
DimensionsOverall: 13 7/8 × 9 7/8in. (35.2 × 25.1cm)
Credit LineBequest of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Hennage
Object number2020-346,1
DescriptionTitle reads: "JANUARY"Lower margin reads: "Sold by John Bowles at the Black Horse in Cornhill/ T. Bowles Sculp"
Label TextIn 1730, a London nurseryman named Robert Furber published a set of twelve prints, one for each month of the year depicting the flowers that were in bloom for that month. The prints were a huge success both in England and abroad. John Custis purchased a set in 1734 of Furber's prints in. Imitators soon followed, including John Bowles who published this quatro version around 1744. Bowles reduced the size of the plates, changed some of the compositions in order to avoid copyright laws.
ProvenanceDates Unknown, Parker Galleries (London, England); dates unknown, purchased by Ms. Marsha Davis (Washington DC); dates unknown, purchased by Arader Galleries, (New York); before 1990, purchased by June and Joseph Hennage (Williamsburg, Virginia) - present, given to The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
ca. 1755