Lot Essay
The Welsh-born, Trajan Hughes is one of the earliest recorded animal painters in Britain and his works are extremely rare. He was a contemporary of Francis Barlow, who drew and painted similar subjects. Hughes' small oeuvre of bird paintings display a delightful simplicity with close attention to detail in the plumage and the features of the birds. His palette is reminiscent of Dutch and Flemish old masters but painted with a directness and charm rooted in British painting of the period.