With the exception of two men, Joseph Crawhall and Arthur Melville, the Glasgow Boys were still resident in the city by 1889. Joseph had only ever spent only brief periods with his friends in Glasgow, and eventually he returned home to his family in Newcastle. Here, his work changed in both style and content as the influence of the Glasgow painters became less prominent in his life. By the end of the decade, he had become committed to the painting and drawing of animals, which had for many years been a particular fascination for him. It seems that he discovered a natural rapport with animals.

Joseph Crawhall followed Arthur Melville's example of seeking the sun and bright light of the Mediterranean and visited Morocco and Spain. These exciting, exotic lands with strange, new creatures may have inspired him to create these two bronze plaques.