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Bird Art

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

Countries/regions

Australia bird art

Artists

Carry Akroyd
Winifred Austen
Keith Brockie
John Busby
William T Cooper
Eric Ennion
Louis Agassiz Fuertes
Dana Gardner
Robert Gillmor
John Gould
Roland Green
Henrik Grönvold
Alan Harris
D.M. Reid Henry
Lars Jonsson
J.G. Keulemans
J. Fenwick Lansdowne
Edward Lear
Ian Lewington
George E. Lodge
James McCallum
Lilian Medland
Bruce Pearson
Chris Rose
C.F. Tunnicliffe
Michael Warren
Donald Watson
C. Webb Smith
Alexander Wilson
Tim Worfolk

The British Museum Birds

Mavis Pilbeam

Paperback edition

2015

"The British Museums vast collections include wonderful images of birds from all over the world. Some are primarily decorative, whereas Thomas Bewick and the Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro chose to show birds in realistic detail, going about their daily lives. Other artists concentrate on scientific accuracy. The endless variety of birds, their freedom of sky, land and water, and especially t heir song have also inspired writers through the ages. Each striking image in this beautiful anthology is matched with a poem about the same species. Some were composed by our best - loved writers including Shakespeare, Chaucer and Tennyson and others have been selected from less familiar or even anonymous voices around the world. Now in a fresh new paperback format, this is an irresistible gift for anyone who loves birds."

Rare Treasures: From the Library of the Natural History Museum

Judith Magee

2015

"This beautiful box set brings together the most highly prized books from one of the most exciting and comprehensive collections of natural history literature to be found anywhere in the world. Inside you will find Rare Treasures, a 192-page book with over 200 illustrations and 36 essays on notable works spanning more than 500 years. They include Pliny the Elder's 1469 edition of Historia Naturalis, John James Audubon's masterpiece The Birds of America, and rare works by Albertus Seba, Mark Catesby and many more. There are also 36 stunning frameable prints reproduced directly from artworks featured in the selected books."

The Book of the Bird: The Bird in Art

Angus Hyland

2014

"The Book of the Bird celebrates the bird in art with an elegant, international collection of paintings, illustrations and photographs, featuring all kinds of birds from the smallest tits and wrens to colourful exotics. Interspersed though the illustrations are short texts giving background to the pictures and information on bird species. This is the perfect gift for all bird lovers."

Of Green Leaf, Bird, and Flower: Artists' Books and the Natural World

Elisabeth Fairman

2014

"Highlighting an enduring interest in natural history from the 16th century to the present, this gorgeous book explores depictions of the natural world, from centuries-old manuscripts to contemporary artists' books. It examines the scientific pursuits in the 18th and 19th centuries that resulted in the collecting and cataloguing of the natural world. It also investigates the aesthetically oriented activities of self-taught naturalists in the 19th century, who gathered flowers, ferns, seaweed, feathers, and other naturalia into albums. Examples of 20th- and 21st-century artists' books, including those of Eileen Hogan, Mandy Bonnell, and Tracey Bush, broaden the vision of the natural world to incorporate its interaction with consumer culture and with modern technologies."

The Art of Conservation: 25 Years of Birdfair Posters

Robert Gillmor, Martin Davies, Tim Appleton

2013

"To celebrate their 25 anniversary, The Birdfair, in collaboration with Robert Gillmor, have produced this special book which illustrates their beautifully produced posters – 23 of which were created by Robert Gillmor. The Art of Conservation shows, through the posters, how the Birdfair has grown from a small, local fair into an international, world acclaimed production. As well as the finished posters, the are various extra artworks by Robert Gillmor, including visuals, sketches and pencil roughs outlining his ideas for the posters"

The Natural Eye: Art Book One

Editor: Sarah Whittley

Essay: Robert Gillmor

Foreword: Chris Packham

Red Hare Publishing

2013

"The Society of Wildlife Art is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To mark this, The Society is publishing a collection of members' paintings and sculptures prepared for their annual art lottery fundraising event at the British Birdfair. With an Introduction by Harriet Mead, a short history by Robert Gillmor and a foreword by Chris Packham, this book is a testament to contemporary British art inspired by nature. This is a stunning collection of contemporary wildlife art by some of Britain’s most celebrated artists."

Ghosts of Gone Birds

Chris Aldhous and Ceri Levy

2013

"It is rare that the birding and art worlds come together. It is even rarer that they bring in some of the greatest artists in the world, along with musicians such as Doves, Gorillaz and Blur. This phenomenon is called Ghosts of Gone Birds.The brief – given to 120 artists – was to produce a piece of work based loosely on one or more extinct birds, with proceeds from sales going to BirdLife International. The results exceeded the curator's wildest dreams – the exhibition in London was a sensation, with the people involved representing a who's who of British art – Sir Peter Blake, Ben Newman, Ralph Steadman, Billy Childlish – along with renowned bird artists such as Bruce Pearson and Carry Akroyd"

Extraordinary Birds

Essays and Plates of Rare Book Selections from the American Museum of Natural History Library

Paul Sweet

2013

"Extraordinary Birds follows the success of Natural Histories and is the next compendium in this well-received series that marries art and thought-provoking science. American Museum of Natural History ornithologist Paul Sweet takes readers on a migratory journey across the globe, introducing them to unique and exquisite birds, as well as to groundbreaking avian studies from the past 500 years. Featuring 40 frameable prints and an equal number of fascinating, in-depth essays, this stunning collection gives bird lovers a precious look at illustrated ornithological monographs from the museum's Rare Book Collections."

The Wildlife Artist's Handbook

Jackie Garner

2013

"Art has always been inspired by the wildlife around us. Since earliest times we have been continually fascinated by both wildlife and the challenge of representing it. This book sets the scene of how wildlife has been portrayed in art and guides the reader through the principles of practical drawing and painting wildlife. It covers recommended equipment, techniques, fieldcraft, composition and anatomy, and offers help for those wishing to exhibit their work"

The Bird in Art

Caroline Bugler

2012

"There has until now been no proper study of the bird in art, despite our fascination with birds, and despite the wealth of complex meanings associated with them in different cultures. A number of pagan gods are linked with birds, and dynasties and empires have adopted powerful birds as their symbols. Birds feature in numerous creation myths, and represent the human soul in many religions. We can trace bird imagery from the cave paintings of the Paleolithic era to the present day, and across all world cultures: there are painted, drawn, mosaic, sculpted, embroidered and ceramic birds, and birds as marginal illuminations or the subject of meticulous ornithological studies. This exquisite new book investigates the significance of the bird in 250 beautifully reproduced works of art, both ancient and modern. Nine chapters - on such themes as the mythical bird, the Eastern bird and the domestic bird - explore in detail a rich and rewarding collection of paintings, prints, drawings and sculptures, creating a book that will enchant art lovers and anyone interested in ornithology"

The Unfeathered Bird

Katrina van Grouw

2012

"There is more to a bird than simply feathers. And just because birds evolved from a single flying ancestor doesn't mean they are structurally all the same. With over 300 stunning drawings depicting 200 species,The Unfeathered Bird is a richly illustrated book on bird anatomy that offers refreshingly original insights into what goes on beneath the feathered surface. Each exquisite drawing is made from an actual specimen and reproduced in sumptuous large format. The birds are shown in lifelike positions and engaged in behavior typical of the species: an underwater view of the skeleton of a swimming loon, the musculature of a porpoising penguin, and an unfeathered sparrowhawk plucking its prey. Jargon-free and easily accessible to any reader, the lively text relates birds' anatomy to their lifestyle and evolution, examining such questions as why penguins are bigger than auks, whether harrier hawks really have double-jointed legs, and the difference between wing claws and wing spurs. A landmark in popular bird books,The Unfeathered Bird is a must for anyone who appreciates birds or bird art."

Drawn From Paradise: The Discovery, Art and Natural History of the Birds of Paradise

David Attenborough & Errol Fuller

2012

"In this unique exploration of a truly awe-inspiring family of birds which to this day is still shrouded in mystery, David Attenborough and Errol Fuller trace the natural history of these enigmatic birds through their depiction in western works of art throughout the centuries, featuring beautiful illustrations by such luminary artists as Jacques Barraband, William Hart, John Gould, Rubens and Breughel, to name but a few. Experienced ornithologists and general nature and art enthusiasts alike will delight in this journey of discovery of the world's most beautiful and mysterious birds."

Natural Histories

Essays and Plates of Rare Book Selections from the American Museum of Natural History Library

Paul Sweet

2012

"For the first time, Natural Histories allows readers a privileged glimpse of seldom seen, fully illustrated scientific tomes from the American Museum of Natural History's Rare Book Collection - a collection of over 450,000 volumes. Forty essays from the museum's top experts in a variety of natural science disciplines, from anthropology to zoology, accompany and discuss each rare tome's unique qualities and scientific contribution. Packaged with extraordinary prints suitable for framing and facsimile items inside bound-in envelopes, this deluxe edition will fascinate both natural science and art lovers alike."

Images of Nature: Chinese Art and the Reeves Collection

Judith Magee

2011

"Chinese Art and the Reeves Collection is a selection of some of the finest examples of Chinese natural history drawings in the Natural History Museum's collections, many of which have never been published before. The book brings together a unique collection of botanical, zoological and entomological drawings depicting the natural history of China. Commissioned and collected during the early nineteenth century by John Reeves and his son, and now housed in the Natural History Museum, London, these outstanding images are important not only for their striking beauty but also for their scientific significance. Sent to China in 1812, John Reeves was a tea inspector for the East India Company and a keen amateur naturalist who commissioned hundreds of scientific drawings from local artists, which were then sent to Britain. Despite often being highly stylised, the images helped to further European knowledge of Chinese natural history during a time when access to the country was severely restricted. Through their dedicated and enthusiastic work, Reeves and his son helped pave the way for some of the great explorers and collectors that followed."

Wildlife in Printmaking

Carry Akroyd (Editor)

2011

"A collection of work by 22 artists whose delight is to experiment with the vagaries of printmaking, refining their ideas to fit a process, or inventing a process to suit their ideas. Their images are triggered by encounters with wildlife. They know the habits and habitats of wildlife and respond to it with interpretation full of freshness, imagination and vivacity. This is a collection of artists from different generations, with varied styles and diverse approaches to making prints, who are all united in taking inspiration from the natural world, from insects to whales and flowers to forests."

Drawing and Painting Birds

Tim Wootton

2010

"Birds are much admired, revered and envied. They have featured in art for many thousands of years and our fascination with them continues. They do though pose a challenge to paint and are not always the most cooperative of models. By understanding their anatomy and recognising their type, the artist can learn a shorthand way to capture movement and attitude. With technique and colour mastered, style develops and a special scene can be captured uniquely forever."

Art of Nature: Three Centuries of Natural History Art from Around the World

Judith Magee

2009

"Art of Nature is an astonishing visual record of the exploration of parts of the natural world that had never previously been documented. It features many of the greatest natural history artists of the last 300 years - Merian, Bartram, Ehret, the Bauer brothers, Audubon and Gould. Continent by continent Judith Magee draws on the unrivalled collections of the Library of the Natural History Museum to illustrate the development of natural history art through the centuries and its crucial role in furthering people's appreciation of nature all around the world."

Raffles' Ark Redrawn: Natural History Drawings from the Collection of Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles

Henry J Noltie

2009

"An illustrated catalogue of the 123 colourful natural history drawings of the Raffles Family Collection, acquired by the British Library in 2007. In February 1824 Sir Stamford Raffles and his wife Sophia set sail for Britain on the Fame, with the collections made during his six years on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. These included two to three thousand drawings, priceless Malay manuscripts and living animals including a tiger specially tamed for the voyage - a 'veritable Noah's Ark.' Tragically the ship caught fire with the loss of all the collections. During the ten weeks until the next boat sailed a Chinese and a French artist managed to replace about 80 of the drawings that, with earlier drawings, including some made on the Malaysian island of Penang for the East India Company surgeon William Hunter, form the core of the collection."

Art of the New Naturalists: A Complete History

Peter Marren & Robert Gillmor

2009

"The stunning, specially commissioned cover illustrations are one of the great joys of the New Naturalist series, lending it a distinctive style which has inspired nature enthusiasts for many decades. The Collins New Naturalist series is the longest-running and arguably the most influential natural history series in the world with over 100 volumes published in over 60 years. Throughout the years, the highly characteristic dust jacket illustrations have become iconic, lifting the books to a level of collectibility and increasing the level of admiration for an already well-established and respected series. With early cover illustrations prepared by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis, later and more recent covers have been designed by Robert Gillmor. Featuring prints of the awe-inspiring artwork of the New Naturalists, the book will offer a unique insight into Gillmor's approach to each subject matter and the intricate and creative way through which he has brought his own distinctive style and craft of printmaking to the New Naturalist series. Marren explores the findings from the Ellis archive, which has thrown up considerable information on how the old covers were developed, approved, in some cases rejected, and then proofed. The Art of the New Naturalists offers a fascinating insight into how the creation of these eminent cover designs has developed and progressed and will be essential reading for everyone interested in the frantic workings behind the seemingly serene collection of artwork that is one of Britain's iconic book series."

Humans, Nature, and Birds: Science Art from Cave Walls to Computer Screens

Darryl Wheye, Donald Kennedy

2008

"This book invites readers to enter a two-floor virtual 'gallery' where 60-plus images of birds reflecting the accomplishments of human pictorial history are on display. These are works in a genre the authors term Science Art - that is, art that says something about the natural world and how it works. Darryl Wheye and Donald Kennedy show how these works of art can advance our understanding of the ways nature has been perceived over time, its current vulnerability, and our responsibility to preserve its wealth. Each room in the gallery is dedicated to a single topic. The rooms on the first floor show birds as icons, birds as resources, birds as teaching tools, and more. On the second floor, the images and their captions clarify what Science Art is and how the intertwining of art and science can change the way we look at each. The authors also provide a timeline linking scientific innovations with the production of images of birds, and they offer a checklist of steps to promote the creation and accessibility of Science Art. Readers who tour this unique and fascinating gallery will never look at art depicting nature in the same way again."

The British Museum Birds

Mavis Pilbeam

2008

"The British Museum’s collections include images of birds from all over the world. Some artists have used them purely for their decorative qualities, as in Indian miniatures and Chinese bird and flower paintings. Thomas Bewick and the Japanese artist Kitagawa Utamaro, in his ‘Myriad Birds’, presented birds in realistic detail as they went about their daily lives, while other artists concentrate on scientific accuracy. The endless variety of birds, their freedom of sky, land, water, and especially their song have also inspired writers. Each image in this anthology is accompanied by a poem or extract from some of our best-loved writers – including Shakespeare, Chaucer and Wordsworth – along with contributions from less familiar as well as anonymous writers from across the world."

Amazing Rare Things: The Art of Natural History in the Age of Discovery

David Attenborough, Susan Owens, Martin Clayton, Rea Alexandratos

2007

Reprint edition published by Yale University Press in 2015.

"The great voyages of discovery of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries brought European artists face-toface with new and exotic plants and animals, and created an intense interest in the way nature was investigated and recorded. In Amazing Rare Things, Sir David Attenborough explores the history of natural history. With expert curators from the Royal Library, he examines the contributions of four great artists and one pre-eminent collector to this era of extraordinary scientific advances. Beautifully illustrated with a selection of exquisite drawings and watercolours by Leonardo da Vinci, Alexander Marshal, Maria Sibylla Merian and Mark Catesby; and with works collected by Cassiano dal Pozzo, this book examines the engagement between art and nature, from Renaissance Italy to the New World of the Americas. This unique and fascinating book shines a light on the role of artists in our exploration of the natural world."

Birds: The Art of Ornithology

Jonathan Elphick

2004

"This breathtaking collection of important and beautiful ornithological art from London's Natural History Museum traces its development from the Renaissance through the scientific approach favored in the Age of Exploration. Included are brilliantly reproduced artworks by the world's great naturalists and scientists such as Audubon and Humboldt, along with the legion of Victorian explorers who catalogued the world's avifauna before photography finally prevailed as the primary means of recording the natural world. The lively and informative text tells how ornithological art grew out of the naturalistic tradition of European painting to become a genre of its own where the artist's focus on aesthetics was married to the scientist's need for precision and detail. Weaving together science, art history, biography, and travel, it paints a wondrous picture of a bygone world of artist-scientists, exotic birds, and faraway lands, making it truly the perfect gift for anyone who loves vintage prints and drawings or has an interest in nature or birding."

Splendid Plumage: Indian Birds by British Artists

Jagmohan Mahajan

2001

"A beautifully illustrated collection that spans over a century of British involvement in India. Many of the British officers found the local fauna fascinating, and their enthusiasm, together with the work of Indian artists, went on to lay the foundations for modern Indian ornithology."

Pearls to Painting: A Naturalist in Ceylon: The Memoirs of George Morrison Reid Henry

George Morrison Reid Henry

Foreword: Bruce Henry

Wildlife Heritage Trust

2000

"The ornithologist and entomologist GM Henry (1891 - 1983) provided the illustrations for several ornithological works, including the Guide to the Birds of Ceylon (1955). Pearls to Painting is a compilation of extracts from his extensive memoirs. It contains the "Ceylon years" of Henry's autobiography, a narrative that describes not only the life and times of one of Sri Lanka's best-known naturalists, but also paints a vivid picture of life in colonial Ceylon in the first half of the 20th century."

A Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World

Christine E Jackson

1999

"This dictionary of bird artists contains biographical information with illustrations. Approximately 5000 artists, past and present, who have made two-dimensional portraits of birds as the main motif in their paintings are included in this dictionary, with their biographical details. Some artists painted large canvases filled with birds for an imaginary earthly paradise, while others made detailed studies of a single species. Many great masters painted a bird, and the specialist bird painters knew not only how to paint feathers, but also understood the birds' anatomical structure. These artists were given commissions to record newly-discovered species. The variety of their approach is illustrated in some 1000 colour and black and white plates. The introduction surveys varying aspects of bird portraiture by different cultures. The artists' biographies, arranged alphabetically, include comments on their individual style and achievements. A list of galleries where their work may be viewed is also included. An additional benefit of the Dictionary is that sales and auctions of bird paintings in both salerooms and galleries during the past ten years are listed, with the prices realized."

Wildlife Art

Selected by Alan Singer

1999

"Wildlife Art is a one-of-a-kind volume featuring an impressive international collection of contemporary paintings from many of the world's finest wildlife artists. The book: presents work in a variety of media-acrylic, oil, watercolor, gouache, colored pencil, graphite pencil, batik and silkscreen, and even wood-burning; showcases the best art of 124 artists from around the globe; and includes a wide range and variety of animals in their natural habitat-water, seashore, mountains, forest, plains, fields, and the rainforest."

Modern Wildlife Painting

Nicholas Hammond

1998

This volume, in 12 chapters, examines the various forms that wildlife art takes. Each chapter is illustrated by paintings or prints that, in the author's view, best represent the genre. The work of 90 artists is shown.

Manuscripts and Drawings in the Ornithology and Rothschild Libraries of the Natural History Museum at Tring

Frances E. Warr

1997

"The Ornithology and Rothschild Libraries of the Natural History Museum at Tring hold a unique collection of manuscripts and drawings, dating from the late 17th Century. The collection includes manuscripts of published and unpublished books and papers, field notes of travel in many parts of the world, notes on egg collections, drawings, watercolours and photographs. Published in association with the Museum, the catalogue will be of value to ornithologists, historians of natural history, and all those interested in the collections held at Tring."

Beasts, Birds and Blossoms in Thai Art

Pamela York Taylor

1995

"Luxuriant tropical plants, colourful birds, and abundant wildlife have inspired Thai artists since neolithic times. Thais have blended these familiar motifs with the foreign designs of India, China, Sri Lanka, Persia, Burma, Cambodia, and Europe to create a unique repertory of decorative art. These birds, beasts, and blossoms ornament the fine arts of painting and sculpture as well as the crafts of ceramics, textiles, wood and ivory carvings, silver repousse, lacquerware, nielloware, and mother-of-pearl inlay. Following age-old traditions, Thais decorate their temples, palaces, and village huts with a unique mixture of realistic and mythic, native and foreign design. Devout Buddhist patrons commission artists to adorn their temples with detailed statues, elaborate architectural fittings, furniture, and utensils. Artists continue to create sumptuous works of gold, silver, or precious gems for Thai royalty. Ordinary Thais, even today, enliven their existence with nature motifs: women wear bright skirts decorated with lush flowers, rural villagers carve elephants on their ox-carts. Unfortunately, modern adornment often lacks the vitality of earlier works. Few older pieces have survived the destruction of war, tropical heat, rain, and insects. Yet, those articles that remain are a legacy to a distinctive Thai art that delights in sinuous vines, flickering flames, budding flowers, flitting birds, and gambolling beasts. This book traces the evolution of nature motifs and explores their symbolism in Thai crafts and fine arts."

Great Bird Paintings of the World, Vol. 2: The Eighteenth Century

Christine E. Jackson

1994

"This book presents a representative selection of colour pictures of birds painted during the 18th century. It portrays the artists' increasing sensitivity to nature. A detailed text accompanies the pictures and reveals the growth in the popularity of watercolour as a medium for painting birds. In the 18th century, several artists continued to produce bird paintings in the same style and composition of the Old Masters. When a new sensitivity to nature became universal, naturalists recorded, named and illustrated species with increasing skills. Old myths were replaced by observation and evidence. Exotic birds were being discovered in the newly-explored countries of North America, India and, at the end of the century, Australia. This age of discovery was also a period when the potential of watercolour painting was developed and proved to be the perfect medium for depicting birds. In bird art, as in so many other aspects of 18th century life, this was an age of sense and sensitivity."

Great Bird Paintings of the World, Vol. 1: The Old Masters

Christine E. Jackson

1993

"The first volume of Great Bird Paintings includes pictures painted in oils or water-colours before 1699. For centuries, Western art was tied to the discipline of the Roman Catholic Church. Symbolic birds appeared in many renaissance religious paintings. Delicate preparatory water-colour sketches were made for these. Artists who wished to paint birds, shrewdly chose scenes of the animals entering Noah's Ark and the Garden of Eden, which gave them the legitimate excuse to introduce birds. By the end of the sixteenth century, the artists had altered the balance and relegated the biblical scene to the background, with the birds claiming full attention in the foreground. In the mid-seventeenth century they were free of clerical demands and in the Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish painting they produced hundreds of very fine canvases full of delightful birds. At long last, they could fully indulge their delight in painting the beauty of colour and form of the birds that gave them so much pleasure."

Picturing Nature: American Nineteenth-Century Zoological Illustration

Ann Shelby Blum

1993

"The panorama of American animal study provides the backdrop for Ann Blum's study of illustration styles. The move from field natural history to museum and laboratory study together with changes in printing technology helped bring about a dramatic shift in published zoological illustration."

Masterpieces of Bird Art: 700 Years of Ornithological Illustration

Roger F. Pasquier and John Ferrand Jr

1991

The Art of Bird Illustration

Maureen Lambourne

1990

"Takes us on a journey through the history of bird illustration, from ancient Egypt. Featuring over 100 plates reproduced in their original colour, this work is illustrated with the work of the most talented artists and ornithologists of their time."

Maass: The Wildfowl Art of David Maass

M. McIntosh

1990

A deluxe volume containing 95 full colour reproduction of wildfowl paintings by Maass. Also includes sketches and finished drawings. Foreword by David Maass. Introduction by Gene Hill.

Fine Bird Books 1700-1900

Sacheverell Sitwell, Handasyde Buchanan and James Fisher.

Atlantic Monthly Press / H.F. & G. Witherby

1990

"This book is a tribute to the world's greatest natural history monographs and contains colour plates which reveal the full breadth of achievement attained during the 18th and 19th centuries. First published over 35 years ago, this expanded edition includes more colour plates and a new foreword. The book represents the collaborative efforts of leading authorities in the fields of ornithology, art history and rare-book connoisseurship. The colour plates featured in the book include work by John James Audubon, Jacques Barraband, Mark Catesby, Daniel Giraud Elliot, John Gould, Robert Havell, John Keulemans, Edward Lear, Edouard Travies and Joseph Wolf."

Birds in Art: The Masters

I Brynildson and W Hagge

1990

"Celebrates the art of 14 artists who have received the Master Wildlife Artist Award, including George Miksch Sutton, Roger Tory Peterson, Peter Scott, Robert Bateman, Lars Jonsson and many more."

Classic Natural History Prints: Birds

S. Peter Dance

1990

"This is the first volume in a series of selections of natural history prints from around the world and celebrates the achievements of bird artists over two centuries. The 60 plates are arranged chronologically and range from Eleazar Albin's "Hoopoe", from the early 19th century, through aquatints from Audubon's "Birds of America" and Edward Lear's colourful "Parrots" some hundred years later, to the work of 20th-century artists such as Archibald Thorburn and George Lodge. The author has written many books and articles, both scientific and popular, on natural history topics."

Bird Etchings: The Illustrators and Their Books, 1655-1855

Christine E. Jackson

1989

"This handsome volume surveys bird-book publishing in Britain from just before 1660, when metal-plate printing was introduced, to the mid-nineteenth century, when the process was superseded by lithography. In this period, most of the bird books published in Britain were illustrated by the authors themselves, who learned to etch their drawings of birds on metal plates. It was a time when hundreds of previously unknown species were being discovered in all parts of the world, and a flood of new specimens reached the British Isles. Bird Etchings tells the story of those who contributed so importantly to the literature of ornithology."

Birds of the World as Painted By 19th Century Artists

Hiroshi Aramata

1989

The Bird Illustrated: 1550-1900

Joseph Kastner

Harry N. Abrams

1988

Illustrations from the collections of the New York Public Library.

The Wildfowl Paintings Of Henry Jones

Peter J.S. Olney

Threshold / Harrap

1987

Limited edition publication in slipcase. 270 pages with 60 full page colour plates.

Wonders of Creation: Natural History Drawings in the British Library

Ray Desmond

1986

"It is perhaps not generally known or fully appreciated how numerous are the natural history drawings in the British Library. The collections encompass oriental and western manuscripts and printed books of all periods. Medieval illuminated manuscripts, fine pages from Mughal albums, the technical and artistic masterpieces from the golden age of botanical and zoological illustration - all are to be in abundance.

Selecting from this wealth of material, Ray Desmond links the stages of artistic development in east and west to contemporary cultural and scientific ideas, giving due prominence to the leading practitioners and significant achievements. In this way, the drawings are treated not only as works of art but also as products of a particular historical context, and, in the case of printed works, products of the process by which they were reporoduced.

The title of the book celebrates the astonishing diversity of the natural world; at the same time, may of the works illustrated may themselves be said to qualify as 'wonders of creation'."

Twentieth-Century Wildlife Artists

Nicholas Hammond

1986

Includes short biographical section about and illustrations by Winifred Austen.

Croom Helm edition


Overlook edition

Wood Engravings of Birds

Christine E. Jackson

1985

The Waterfowl Art of Maynard Reece

Maynard Reece

1985

"This collection of waterfowl paintings by Maynard Reece, represents all the waterfowl of the North American continent, including 27 species of duck, four of geese and two of swans. In each painting he evokes a scene that portrays bird behaviour in a particular time, locale and weather."

The Great Bird Illustrators And Their Art, 1730-1930

Peyton Skipwith

1979

Discusses the work of 15 artists including John Gould, John James Audubon, Mark Catesby, Edward Lear, Josef Wolf, John Guille Millais, Archibald Thorburn. 176 pages with 75 full page colour illustrations.

The Art Of Natural History: Animal Illustrators And Their Work

S. Peter Dance

1978

Bird Illustrators: Some Artists in Early Lithography

C.E. Jackson

1975

Includes chapters on: illustrators: William Swainson, Edward Lear, John Gould, Henry Leonard Meyer, Josef Wolf, Joseph Smit, John Gerrard Keulemans, Edward Neale, William Foster, Claude Wilmott Wyatt, Frederick William Frohawk, Henrik Grönvold, Archibald Thorburn, and George Edward Lodge.

The Book Of Birds: Five Centuries Of Bird Illustrations

A.M. Lysaght

1975

"A record of some of the finest bird illustrations, including examples of early manuscripts and a number of original watercolour and gouache drawings. The introduction shows how birds and man have been closely associated since earliest times and how this led man to introduce birds into his mythology, literature and art."

American Wildlife Painting

Martina R. Norelli

1975

Focusses on Audubon, Catesby, Fuertes, Heade, Thayer and Wilson. 224 pages with many colour and black and white illustrations.

A Dictionary of British Bird Painters

Frank Lewis

96 pages with 48 monochrome reproductions.

Bird Books And Bird Art: An Outline Of The Literary History And Iconography Of Descriptive Ornithology

Jean Anker

1973

This book has two section: An outline of the literary history and iconography of descriptive ornithology; and A catalogue of the collection of books containing plates with figures of birds and their eggs now in the University Library at Copenhagen.

Francis Lee Jaques: Artist Of The Wilderness World

Florence Page Jaques

1972

"A richly illustrated biography of one of America's greatest nature artists, written by his wife Florence. With 64 paintings and dioramas in full color. 100 drawings in scratchboard, pen and ink, and pencil. A treasury of prose writings from the six Jacques books."

Fine Bird Books 1700-1900

Sacheverell Sitwell, Handasyde Buchanan and James Fisher.

1953

A limited edition publication with 16 full page colour plates and 24 black and white plates. There are three sections: an essay on bird books by Sitwell, a bibliography bi Fisher and Buchanan, and a list of species in the plates by Fisher. A general edition was published in 1990.

Bird Books And Bird Art: An Outline of the Literary History and Iconography of Descriptive Ornithology

Jean Anker

1938

Based primarily on collections of books and plates at the University Library at Copenhagen.

A facsimile edition was published in 1973.

Illustrations of Ornithology, Vol. 2

Sir William Jardine and Prideaux John Selby

1826

Includes illustrations by Prideaux Selby, Edward Lear and R. Mitford

Illustrations of Ornithology, Vol. 1

Sir William Jardine and Prideaux John Selby

1826

Includes illustrations by Prideaux Selby, Edward Lear and R. Mitford