Chickens in Art History.

A Pictorial Essay.

The chicken in art has been around a long time. In recent times we have seen the chicken appear in cartoons and movies, who doesn't remember watching Foghorn Leghorn® and his girlfriend Miss Prissy® on a Saturday morning while growing up.

Foghorn Leghorn - Public Domain

The more recent Disney® character, Hei-hei®, gave a wonderfully light-hearted albeit not-so-bright character for us to enjoy. Go watch the movie Moana® to get a good look at this kooky bantam rooster.

Even famous artists like Andy Warhol, however indirectly, used the chicken for art...remember his Campbell's® Soup can?

In the world of decorative painting there have been some wonderful patterns with chickens from so many current designers. One of my favorites appeared in a July 2001 painting magazine. A watercolor chicken by Rodney Ann Bensman, I still have plans to paint it one day.

Rodney Ann's Awesome Chicken Pattern - July 2001 - Photo Credit - DigiArt by Di

The following photos have been pulled from the internet, descriptions are listed below each photo. I hope they inspire your 'poultry' paintings.

Feeding the Chickens by Walter Frederick Osborne,1885, Public Domain

Domestic Chicken - Artist Unknown, 17th Century, Public Domain

Postcard - Chicken and Rural Scene, early 1900's. Public Domain

Turkeys and Chickens by Adriaen Van Utrecht ,1646 , Public Domain

Feeding the Chickens, Artist Unknown, 1869 Public Domain

Domestic Cock, Hen and Chickens by Francis Barlow, 1665 Public Domain

From Vietnam, a Dong Ho style painting. Public Domain

All photos titled Public Domain in this article have been accessed at Wikimedia Commons. They are in the public domain both here in the USA and in many other countries.

Title Photo Credit - Gordon Johnson - Pixabay.Com