A white heron perches on a willow branch over water

A white heron stands on a gnarled branch that arcs across the composition, wings partly raised as if just landing, its long neck curved down toward the water below. Trailing willow leaves, rendered in gray ink wash, hang from the branch. White ripples and foam mark the water's surface at the bottom of the sheet. Its legs and feet carry a touch of yellow-green against the otherwise gray and white composition. The artist's brush signature and seal sit at the lower right.

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.