An Owl for Halloween—Mystery and Beauty in a Picture Study

Children already have their imaginations busy with costumes, favorite characters, and the mystery of Halloween night. Alongside that excitement, we can make room for another kind of mystery: the haunting beauty of a work of art, and the glimpse of another world that can open up when we look closely.

Every Thursday my grandsons come to visit. This week, with Halloween just ahead, we’ll share a few ghostly poems and stories—perhaps even a visit from the Headless Horseman in Washington Irving's wonderful short story, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. 

We’ll also spend some time with a watchful owl beneath a full moon. We will look at Soga Nichokuan's Owl on a Pine Branch. I’ve printed a full-size copy of the image above and placed it in a simple frame on an easel, so it sites on the small table beside our dinner table. We’ll eat tacos, talk, and take a closer look. I’ve prepared a copy of the image for you to print, too.

What will I tell the boys about the artist? Soga Nichokuan was a Japanese painter active in the seventeenth century. The Metropolitan Museum of Art tells us that he and his father, Soga Chokuan, specialized in painting birds, especially birds of prey.

We don’t know what Nichokuan’s childhood was like, but I like to imagine him watching hawks wheeling overhead or gripping a branch, their sharp eyes alert and their curved talons wrapped around the wood. Perhaps those birds stayed in his memory and found their way into his paintings. This time, we meet one of his owls: watchful beneath the moon, its gaze startling—and just a little humorous.

Charlotte Mason recommended telling children a short story about the artist before they study a picture. In her example of a lesson on the painter Edwin Landseer, she suggests telling the children that he had dogs as pets and, because he loved them, studied their habits. That small piece of an artist’s life gives us a way into the work.

Mason also says we must not underestimate the value of what a single picture can offer a child: “he is enriched more than we know in having really looked at even a single picture” (Home Education, p. 309).

A picture study lesson for Owl on a Pine Branch

Begin with the artist’s name and the title of the picture, along with a brief story about the artist. Then give your child a few quiet minutes to look. Let the picture hold their attention without pointing out details or asking questions.

After a little while, cover the picture or turn it away. Invite your child to tell what he or she remembers. Listen as the details return in the child’s own words.

Then show the picture again. Your child may notice something newly remembered or see a detail that had gone unnoticed. The pleasure is in looking, remembering, and looking again.

This week, our picture will sit beside poems and stories that carry their own autumn mystery. The owl does not take away from the fun of Halloween; it gives us another beautiful thing to enjoy together.

I’ve prepared a two-page printable with the owl image, its museum information, and a simple guide to the picture-study lesson.

[Download Art and Lesson Here]

If you would like more picture study in your home, our 2027 Landseer calendar offers a painting to enjoy each month.