Bidspirit auction | Lansdowne's Rare Birds of China

Lansdowne's Rare Birds of China - Lot of 32 Elephant Folio Bird Collotypes - This lot of 32 limited edition, elephant folio collotypes was done by J. Fenwick Lansdowne for The Rare Birds of China . The work was printed in London by Kennedy Fine Arts in 1992. These prints are from numbered copy III of X which was separate from the normal edition of 100 copies. The collotype is signed and numbered in pencil on Fabriano paper. The superb color collotypes were produced after original watercolor paintings by J. Fenwick Lansdowne. The work was commissioned to help illustrate the endangered birds of China. They artistry of the plates are stunning and in the tradition of some the greatest natural history monographs in the prior centuries. His work is considered among the highest achievements of ornithological art. J. Fenwick Lansdowne (1937-2008) was born in Hong Kong and raised in British Columbia, Canada. He proved a talented painter very young, holding his first museum exhibition at the age of 14 at the Royal British Columbia Museum. He was considered a foremost wildlife painter and referred to as Audubon's successor. He studied the subjects in the field as well as in museum collections to create his accurate and stunning watercolors. Paper Size: ~ 32” by 25” Paper Type or Special Features: 32 Elephant Folio, Color Colotypes, Signed and Numbered