Lot Essay
This group of four watercolors is after various plates published in George Louis Marie Leclerc Comte de Buffon's seminal late 18th century encyclopedia of nature. Travis was a highly respected orinthological illustrator and his portraits are thought to be among the best ever painted. He published several series of colored lithographs of birds, including Oiseaux et Papillions. This group of watercolors appears to be Travis' original illustrations for a series of lithographs.