Joseph Crawhall was part of a group of artists known as the Glasgow Boys. Despite having had little formal training, he developed his natural talents under the influence of artists such as James Guthrie and E.A. Walton. After abandoning oil-painting in the mid-1880s, Crawhall became one of the most accomplished watercolourists of his generation. He specialised in animal subjects, mainly horses and birds, and also painted a large number of watercolours in Morocco between 1884 and 1893. This portrait medallion in bronze was made by Glasgow artist MacGillivray. As a poor young sculptor he could not afford to hire models, so instead asked his fellow artists to sit for him. Between 1881 and 1896 he depicted at least eight of his friends, this medallion being one of the earliest attempts.