Dennis F. Harle (1920 - 2001)
Dennis Harle was born in Sandwich, Kent. He studied at Thanet School of Art and later at Canterbury School of Art. A keen naturalist he spent most of his life working in nature reserves in the Kent area. As an ornithologist he was a founder member of Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory Trust (SBBOT) http://www.sbbot.co.uk/ and was responsible for establishing a nature reserve at Gazen Salts. Harle was a very accomplished bird and botanical
artist. He contributed a coloured frontispiece and
line drawings for the book The Birds of Kent: a
review of their status and distribution, 1981.
The barn owl (Tyto alba) is mostly nocturnal and lives in open countryside. It feeds on small mammals such as mice and voles. It is estimated that there are currently 4,000 breeding pairs in Britain.
The Dennis Harle Drawings Collection The drawings of Dennis Harle are from a collection of paintings of 50 British birds by British artists that were commissioned by the British Museum (Natural History) for a series of coloured postcards in 1980. Whilst many of the drawings are relatively small, they represent some of the best illustrations of birds by accomplished artists of the time. Two further drawings of Harle’s are held and are of a Whitethroat and some Willow warblers.
Exhibition and publication details Apart from the postcard series, this drawing has
not been on public display.
References and further reading Taylor, D.W., Davenport, D.L., Flegg, J.J.M. (eds.)
(1981) The Birds of Kent: a review of their
status and distribution. Kent Ornithological
Society: Meopham. 438 pp.
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