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A PRIVATE COLLECTION OF WORKS BY JOHANNES GERARDUS KEULEMANS AND ARCHIBALD THORBURN
The present series of works by Johannes Gerardus Keulemans and Archibald Thorburn represents a rare and unusual opportunity to see works produced by two of the greatest ornithological artists side by side. In one of the most ambitious ornithological projects ever commissioned, it was Keulemans who was originally tasked by Lord Lilford to provide illustrations for his seminal Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands, and Thorburn who ended up completing 268 out of the 421 plates, after Keulemans became ill. It was a formidable task for both artists that overall would take all of ten years to complete, finishing in 1897.
Lord Lilford was a gifted and knowledgeable patron who expected nothing but perfection in every detail, which is reflected in the immaculate execution in the present lots. The animation, beauty, and masterful observation of each lot testify to two artists working at the peak of their ability. That the works received such high appreciation from Lilford, would have no doubt pleased both artists. To this day, the illustrations produced by both artists still receive such praise - praise that is perhaps best encapsulated by Maureen Lambourne in The Art of Bird Illustration (1990), who stated that Lilford, Thorburn and Kuelemans' collaboration resulted in 'the last great series of bird prints of the century'.
Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935)
Honey Buzzards
Details
Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935)
Honey Buzzards
signed 'A. Thorburn' (lower left)
pencil, watercolour and bodycolour
9 x 7 in. (22.8 x 17.8 cm.)
Honey Buzzards
signed 'A. Thorburn' (lower left)
pencil, watercolour and bodycolour
9 x 7 in. (22.8 x 17.8 cm.)
Literature
Lilford, Thomas Littleton Powys, 4th Baron (1833-1896), Coloured Figures of the Birds of the British Islands, London: Taylor and Francis, for R.H. Porter, 1887-97, vol. 1, pl. 11.
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