Christmas Day by John G Crawford (b. 1941) depicts a barn scene with a white goat inside, along with some hay and wood. Thin brush strokes throughout the work capture immense detail in terms of different textures. The layering of various colours of dark brown to pale yellow with these thin strokes gives the hay its depth. The panes of glass on the windows of the barn, particularly the one in the background, reflect the moody atmosphere through swatches of white and light grey acrylic. Crawford's attention to detail is seen in the use of these same colours on the goat's hair, with intentional, curving and layered brush strokes to achieve dimension to the animal. The lone goat in the dark barn contrasts the title of the piece, but possibly shows Crawford's intention to reflect the scene of the nativity since it appears this goat is pregnant by its rounded stomach and there is a bed of hay.

Crawford's work has previously been compared to the work of Andrew Wyeth, an American painter whose work focused on realism in subjects and landscapes and contained darker details and moody atmosphere like much of Crawford's work. Andrew Wyeth was also known to have collected some of Crawford's other work, reflecting their friendship and admiration for each other's artwork. 

John Gardiner Crawford RBA RSW, born 1941

Born in Broadsea, near Fraserburgh, Crawford studied at Gray's School of Art in Aberdeen from 1959 to 1964, spending the summers of 1962 and 1963 studying, respectively, in Paris and at Hospitalfield in Arbroath. After a year at Aberdeen College of Education he taught art in Deeside schools and at a Fraserburgh Academy until 1972, when he joined Dundee College of Education as a lecturer in art. In 1980 he resigned to concentrate full-time on painting. Each summer from 1980 to 1985 he worked as artist-tutor at Newbattle Abbey College in Midlothian.
Crawford's painting is founded on technical accomplishment and an extraordinary attention to detail. His work has been compared to that of American artist Andrew Wyeth, whose own collection includes examples of Crawford's art.