Sold on the instruction of
the Trustees of the Late
MRS M G S DUNPHIE
Edwin John Alexander R.S.A., R.S.W. (1870-1926)
Details
Edwin John Alexander R.S.A., R.S.W. (1870-1926)
A Cock Lady Amherst's Pheasant Chrysolophus amherstiae
signed and dated upper right Edwin Alexander 1906; bodycolour on holland
17 x 34¼in. (43.2 x 87cm)
A Cock Lady Amherst's Pheasant Chrysolophus amherstiae
signed and dated upper right Edwin Alexander 1906; bodycolour on holland
17 x 34¼in. (43.2 x 87cm)
Exhibited
London,Royal Society of Painters in Watercolours, Winter Exhibition 1908,no.213
Further details
This pheasant was named in honour of Lady Sarah Amherst (1762-1838). wife of Lord Amherst, Govenor-General of India from 1823 to 1828. Lady Amherst was a keen botanist and ornithologist, and on her return to England brought a collection of Himalayan plants and two live male pheasants. The birds originally came from Burma, and were given to her by Sir Archibald Campbell, successful commander of the British forces in the Burmese War who had received the pheasant from the defeated King of Burma. For two years they were kept in good health by Lady Amherst in India, but sadly, although they survived the long journey, they died within a few weeks of their arrival in England.