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Australian Bird Art

The list is ordered by publication date with the most recent at the top.

Artists

William T Cooper
Lilian Medland

Bird Art

Bird Art

Australia

Australia

Australian Predators of the Sky

Penny Olsen

2015

"This book begins with fascinating descriptions by award-winning natural history author Penny Olsen on the discovery and illustration of birds of prey in Australia, and their characteristics and ecology, followed by full-colour illustrations of each species by a variety of artists, accompanied by intriguing notes about the birds. 'Australian Predators of the Sky' comprises over 200 striking paintings, lithographs and engravings of all 34 Australian species-25 diurnal birds of prey such as eagles, hawks and falcons, and nine owls such as hawk-owls and barn-owls."

Louisa Atkinson's Nature Notes

Editor: Penny Olsen

2015

"Presented in the style of a sketchbook, and organised by season, 'Louisa Atkinson's Nature Notes' teams Louisa's beautiful drawings and paintings of Australian plants, animals and birds with short extracts from her nature writings. The book includes an essay about Louisa Atkinson's life and milieu by nature and science writer Penny Olsen."

Seen But Not Heard: Lilian Medland's Birds

Christobel Mattingley

2014

"Lilian Medland has not received until now the recognition she deserves as a painter of birds. Due to world events and circumstances, five important books on birds containing her superb illustrations were never published. Despite such major disappointments, she continued to devote her time and talent to painting, first the birds of the British Isles and, later, those of Australia, her adopted country, where she died in 1955. Even now, she is not mentioned in the Australian Dictionary of Biography in her own right, but only in the entry for her husband, ornithologist Tom Iredale. Seen But Not Heard is the first publication to shine a light on the life and work of this much-overlooked but brilliant Australian natural history artist."

An Eye for Nature: The Life and Art of William T. Cooper

Penny Olsen

National Library of Australia

2014

"In the work of artist William T.Cooper, platypuses swim in green underwater worlds, waves throw up blankets of spray, embers glow in the aftermath of a bushfire, a Thylacine emerges from the shadows, sniffing the air. But it is his paintings of birds which set Cooper apart-his raucous cockatoos, colourful parrots, animated turacos and flamboyantly displaying birds of paradise. Often placed in meticulously studied landscapes, these intricate bird portraits reveal Cooper's close observation not only of his subjects' appearance, but their habits, poses and behaviour. In this biography, Penny Olsen traces the path of Cooper's life and art-from his childhood spent in the bush, to his teenage years as an apprentice taxidermist at Carey Bay Zoo and, later, to his work as a window dresser and landscape artist. She documents his fruitful partnership with wife and collaborator Wendy Cooper and his extensive travels in Australia and abroad in pursuit of his subject."

The Early Career Of Neville Henry Cayley In Victoria

Mark R. Cabouret

2014

"Drawing on over 30 years of research, this short monograph presents artworks produced by Neville Henry Cayley whilst living in Victoria, Australia. Limited to 200 copies."

Cayley and Son: The Life and Art of Neville Henry Cayley and Neville William Cayley

Penny Olsen

2013

"The classic field guide What Bird Is That? has been known to bird enthusiasts throughout Australia for decades, ever since it was first published in 1931. It was written and illustrated by Neville William Cayley (1886–1950), son of artist Neville Henry Cayley (1854 - 1903) who, before him, had also had dreams of publishing a 'big bird book' - a comprehensive publication on Australian birds - but it never came to fruition. Cayley and Son charts the lives and works of this Australian father-and-son pair of bird artists."

Flocks of Colour

Penny Olsen

National Library of Australia

2013

"What name could be a more apt description of Australia than 'The Land of Parrots', a name inspired by late sixteenth-century maps showing a southern region labelled 'Psittacorum regio'? This beautiful book takes a close look at parrots in Australia, from the first published illustration of an Australian parrot - a Rainbow Lorikeet collected live on Cook's 1770 voyage - to William T. Cooper's twentieth-century watercolour of the elusive Night Parrot. With introductory essays by ornithologist Penny Olsen, Flocks of Colour covers two and a quarter centuries of discovery and illustration of Australia's avifauna. It features a rich portfolio of images of all the Australian parrots, by various artists including John Gould, Edward Lear, Neville W. Cayley and William T. Cooper, selected from the collections of the National Library of Australia."

The Art of Science: Remarkable Natural History Illustrations from Museum Victoria

John Kean

2013

"The Art of Science presents the best of Museum Victoria's remarkable collection of natural history artworks. Based on the museum's collection of rare books, field sketches, art works and taxonomic studies, the book features some of the most exquisite, rare and important illustrations of flora and fauna ever created. In addition to the artworks, which tell a story of exploration, discovery, painstaking research and documentation, the book also traces the lives, curiosities and observations of the artists and explores whom throughout history often worked against the odds to gather and record."

Mr J.W. Lewin, Painter and Naturalist

Richard Neville

2012

"Author, illustrator, printmaker and natural historian, John William Lewin created the first illustrated book ever published in Australia Birds of New South Wales, in 1813. Featuring more than 150 exquisite artworks, Mr JW Lewin takes a fascinating look at Lewins life and work, his place in colonial Australian society and the natural history craze that swept the world at that time. When Lewin arrived in New South Wales in 1800, the fledgling colony was by no means a favoured destination for artistic, ambitious Englishmen. Yet to Lewin, Australia was simply the finest country in the world, and it offered him the respectability and social standing he could never have found in England. Written by Richard Neville, Mitchell Librarian at the State Library of New South Wales, this book is a visually stunning testament to Lewins artistic legacy."

The Art of the First Fleet

Lisa Di Tommaso

Natural History Museum

2012

"In 1788, nearly fifteen-hundred people on eleven sailing ships came ashore at Port Jackson in Australia after a gruelling eight month journey from England. This collection of vessels later became known as the First Fleet, and those who sailed in them were the community who established the first European colony in Australia. The Art of the First Fleet depicts the natural history of this extraordinary land, the people and culture of the local indigenous population and the events that marked these initial formative years. The collection, now housed in the Natural History Museum, provides an invaluable record of the wildlife and environment, people and events, as seen through the eyes of the colonists who laid the foundations for the European settlement of Australia."

The Quintessential Bird: The Art Of Betty Temple Watts

Viola Temple Watts

2011

"Betty Temple Watts (1901–1992) developed an interest in birds in her early married life while living in Iran and Papua New Guinea. Although she had studied art formally as a 19 year old, it was not until she was 48, and settled in Melbourne, that she decided to immerse herself in her bird art. Betty spent much of her time practising drawing, but was constantly critical of the results. In spite of her harsh self-judgement, others had a high opinion of her skill and, in 1952, she received her first commission, going on to provide bird illustrations for numerous publications until she was in her late eighties. The Quintessential Bird allows readers a glimpse into Betty's joyous world of birds. This is followed by the plates, reproduced in full along with 60 close-ups of individual birds."

For The Love Of Nature: E.E. Gostelow's Birds And Flowers

Christobel Mattingley

2010

"Ebenezer Edward Gostelow (1866-1944) began his 50 year teaching career at the age of 15. He was a keen naturalist and took every opportunity to study the local plants and birds. Gostelow would liven up his blackboards with captivating chalk drawings of birds and flowers. Gostelow's watercolours of the local flora are detailed and delicate. Many depict in minute detail the buds, flowers (often in cross-section), leaves and seeds. On each painting he has recorded common and scientific names, and places and dates of collection. He had an eye for composition, arranging the items in the painting exquisitely. This book presents a short biography, followed by a portfolio section of more than 80 images of birds and flowers."

Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia’s Curious Animals

Penny Olsen

2010

"In Upside Down World: Early European Impressions of Australia’s Curious Animals, author Penny Olsen describes how this ‘miscellany of the curious’ fuelled the rage for Australian natural history amongst the upper classes of Europe, bringing income and, occasionally, fame to its collectors and documenters. In the colony itself, however, it contributed to wholesale destruction of animals and their habitats and, in some cases, led to their extinction. Upside Down World is lavishly illustrated with early European images, most held in the National Library of Australia collection and some of which have never before been reproduced. Scattered throughout are fascinating and colourful descriptions of species from collectors’ and naturalists’ journals, showing us how the scientific knowledge of Australian fauna evolved."

The Bird Man Of Brisbane: Silvester Diggles And His Ornithology Of Australia

Louis J. Pigott

2010

"When Silvester Diggles arrived in 1855 there was little artistic or scientific talent in the small frontier town of Brisbane. By the time of his death in 1880, his paramount legacy was a large book on Australian birds, profusely illustrated with hand-coloured lithographs. Acting as his own publisher from 1865 onwards, Diggles produced the first substantial zoological work to commence publication in Australia. The compilation and content of this rare work of art and natural history is examined here in the light of Diggles' life and times, as well as his ornithological predecessors and contemporaries. So too is his role in establishing the first scientific society and museum in Queensland. Also presented in this lavishly illustrated publication are colour plates from his bird book, and some of his original bird paintings for the first time."

First Fleet Artist: George Raper's Birds and Plants of Australia

National Library of Australia

2009

"George Raper was a midshipman on the Sirius of the First Fleet, whose talent and opportunity combined to produce what is now one of the National Library of Australia's most treasured collections, the Ducie Collection of First Fleet Art. Raper's ability to observe and depict the captivating beauty of Australian birds and plants was heightened by his youthful enthusiasm for the novelty of what he witnessed. This enchanting telling of Raper's brief life presents a new dimension to our understanding of the First Fleet experience and the life of a junior officer in the British Navy. The book also tells the story of how Raper's watercolours were only discovered in 2004 during a routine estate valuation in England, how they were attributed to Raper, and how being in storage for years had left their colours so vibrant. Containing full-colour illustrations of the complete Ducie Collection, this volume gives substance to the previously shadowy figure of Raper: a young man whose adventurous spirit and extraordinary insight into the natural world bequeathed to Australia through his paintings, a superlative legacy."

A Brush with Birds: Australian Bird Art from the National Library of Australia

National Library of Australia

2008

"The paintings of Australian birds in A Brush with Birds are by artists whose work is represented in the National Library of Australia. They span the years from first settlement to the 1970s, telling us about the times as well as the birds, and showing how the style of bird art has evolved. This book is lavishly illustrated with vibrant and luscious art and it includes the stories of the artists behind the paintings."

Spirit of the Wedge-Tailed Eagle: The Art of Humphrey Price-Jones

CSIRO

2007

90 pages with colour and b/w illustrations including reproductions of 30 colour paintings.

Feather and Brush: 300 Years of Australian Bird Art

Penny Olsen

2001

"This volume traces the 300-year history of bird art in Australia, from the crudely illustrated records of the earliest European voyages of discovery to the diversity of artwork available at the start of the 21st century. It is a history inseparable from the development of Australian ornithology. Against a background of establishment of the country itself, naval draftsmen, convicts, officers, settlers, naturalists, artists and scientists alike contributed both to the art and to science. Driven by the excitement of discovery and description of new and exotic birds, the illustration of Australian birds flourished in the late 18th and 19th centuries, then fell into neglect. In recent decades, increasing interest in the environment has led to a revitalization of the art. A wealth of contemporary Australian artists has tuned their attention to birds and never before has wildlife illustration been so varied and accessible. There are over 250 images representing 94 artists in the book. Some are well-known, others are published for the first time. All have been selected for their merit, be it ornithological, historical or artistic. The book links the greats of yesterday - including Ferdinand Bauer, Edward Lear, George Raper, John Lewin, the Goulds and the mysterious Port Jackson Painter - with some of the finest wildlife artists working in Australia today, many with an intimate knowledge of the birds in the field."

Lars Knudsen's Australian Birds

Lars Knudsen

1995

64 page publication featuring 29 paintings by Knudsen.

The Natural Art Of Louisa Atkinson

Elizabeth Lawson

1995

A Burble of Birds

Judy Wilford

Reproductions of 30 paintings by the author.

Australian Artists, Australian Birds

Barry Pearce

1989

A history of Australian bird painting with colour reproductions of work by over 40 artists.

Australian Birds and Their Young

Gladys Y. O'Grady

Cassell

1979

Reproductions of 72 paintings by Gladys O'Grady of birds and their young at the nest. Each painting is accompanied by text about the species.

Impressions Of Waterfowl Of Australia

Frank T.Morris

1977

A limited edition publication with 18 colour plates of oil paintings.

John Cotton's Birds Of The Port Phillip District Of New South Wales 1843-1849

Allan McEvey

1974

A limited edition publication with reproductions of notebooks, drawings and paintings.

Birds of Paradox: Birdlife in Australia and New Zealand

Editor: Jack Pollard

1967

A collection of prose, poetry and artwork celebrating the birds of Australia and New Zealand. Includes work by John Gould, Joseph Banks, Alec Chisholm, Banjo Paterson, Neville Cayley, Alan Moorehead, Robin Hill, Judith Wright, Vincent Serventy, Crosbie Morrison, Mary Gilmore and Olaf Ruhen.