Three white herons wade beneath a crescent moon in the reeds

Three white herons stand and wade in a shallow marsh at dusk, their long necks curved in different attitudes as one lifts its beak skyward. Feathery reed grasses rise behind them in muted sage and grey, and a slender crescent moon hangs in a blue-grey sky at upper right. The birds are rendered in bokashi-graded washes of pale grey and white against the misty water, with fine linework describing feathers and jointed legs. The artist's later signature 祥邨 (Shōson) and red seal appear at lower left.

Ohara Koson (1877–1945) was the leading bird-and-flower (kachō-ga) artist of the shin-hanga movement. Trained in Kanazawa and Tokyo in the Shijō painting tradition, he designed prints from around 1900, first for export publishers and from 1926 for Watanabe Shōzaburō under the name Shōson. Herons in snow, crows on a branch, goldfish and sparrows are drawn with a naturalist's precision and printed with soft gradations and embossed feathers. His prints are held by the Rijksmuseum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Printed as a museum-grade giclée on Hahnemühle fine art paper using 12-ink archival pigment printing. Available handframed in FSC-certified wood with optional float glass, or unframed. Ships worldwide with free delivery to 30+ countries.