Witch Riding a Bat (1916)
by Ida Rentoul Outhwaite (Australian, 1888–1960)
A witch sits astride a large bat in full flight — cape streaming, expression serene, entirely at ease with the situation. She looks like someone who has done this before and expects to do it again. She is simply going somewhere, on a bat, at night, and this is perfectly normal for her.
Ida Rentoul Outhwaite was one of Australia's most celebrated illustrators of the early 20th century, known for her intricate, luminous depictions of fairies, elves, witches, and the creatures of the natural world. Her work appeared in children's books, gift annuals, and magazines throughout the 1910s and 1920s, and her style — delicate linework, soft watercolor washes, figures that are simultaneously whimsical and emotionally serious — made her one of the defining visual voices of Australian fairy-tale illustration.
What distinguishes Outhwaite's witches and fairies from the saccharine is their composure. Her figures are not frightened by the dark or the strange. They inhabit it. A fairy floats above a rocky sea without fear. A witch rides a bat without drama. The supernatural, in Outhwaite's world, is simply where certain women live — and they are entirely at home there.
Rectangle Canvas Wrap
Gallery-quality canvas with fade-resistant inks and a 1.25" deep pine frame sourced from renewable forests. Arrives wrapped and ready to hang.
- Materials: cotton and polyester composite canvas, pine wood frame
- Inner frame: radiata pine from renewable forests
- Leveling bumpers included for wall protection
- Ready to hang — mounting hardware pre-attached
Care: Dust gently with a clean, damp cloth as needed.