Motherhood

Motherhood ranks among Austrian’s largest and earliest hen and chick paintings. The subjects are positioned inside of a coop and surround their much larger mother, who casts an authoritative glance at the viewer. A lone chick peeks out through the wooden slats on right. The hen is none other than Dame Julia, one of three hens that Austrian trained to be models for his barnyard compositions. Other hens featured in Austrian’s works include Dame Pauline and Coal Black Lady. The artist was one of Reading’s best known artists, having exhibited in Philadelphia, London, and Paris over the course of his career.