525
The Rare Birds of China by Lansdowne, with an Original Watercolor from The Rare Birds of China
LANSDOWNE, J. FENWICK
Rare Birds of China. London: Kennedy Fine Arts, (1992). Copy 37 of 100, with each plate signed in pencil and thus numbered, and the same numeration in the companion text volume. Loose sheets in the elephant folio blue fabric case of publication, the text in a companion volume in wrappers laid-in, the prospectus included; the whole protected in the canvas sleeve of issue. 32 x 25 inches (81 x 63 cm); 32 superb color collotypes after the original watercolor paintings, printed on Fabriano paper; each plate is laid into a special printed Japanese paper sleeve with the plate name. Fine; Offered with the original watercolor for the plate of Temminck's Trapogan (Tragopan temminckii), plate 2 in the set. Watercolor over pencil outline on paper, approximately 28 x 19 5/8 inches (71.5 x 50 cm) sight, signed J. F. Lansdowne (l.l.) and dated 1991; framed. In immaculate condition.
The watercolors by J. Fenwick Lansdowne for this work are among the highest achievements of ornithological art. The Temminck's Trapogan, depicted here, is represented by a male, with red-orange, white-spotted plumage and a blue facial display, and the more modestly feathered brown and white-spotted female, in their natural habitat.
This elephant-folio-sized set of ornithological plates, a triumph in their artistry, follows in the tradition of the great illustrated natural history monographs of the past centuries, such as Audubon's masterpiece, The Birds of America. The artist, J. Fenwick Lansdowne, was born in 1937 in Hong Kong to British parents and grew up in British Columbia, Canada. Stricken with polio as a baby, he developed both his love of birds and his talent as a painter from a young age, holding his first museum exhibition in 1952 at the Royal British Columbia Museum when he was just fourteen years old. As one of the world's foremost wildlife painters, often referred to as Audubon's successor, he is the artist who best maintained the tradition of bird painting and publishing into the late 20th century. Similar to Audubon, he would both study his subjects in the field and use museum collections of preserved specimens to paint his highly detailed and accurate watercolors. He died in Canada in 2008.
The magnificent collotype plates include the following: Impeyan Monal Lophophorus impejanus; Temminck's Tragopan Tragopan temminckii; Satyr Tragopan Tragopan satyra; Swinhoe's Pheasant Lophura swinhoei; Elliot's Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti; Mikado Pheasant Syrmaticus mikado; Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus; Brown Eared Pheasant Crossoptilon mantchuricum; Himalayan Snowcock Tetraogallus himalayensis; Taiwan Magpie Urocissa caerulea; Chinese Parrotbill Paradoxornis heudei; Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus; Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis; White Stork Iconia ciconia; Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon; White Eared Pheasant Crossoptilon crossoptilon; Japanese Crane Grus japonensis; Cabot's Tragopan Tragopan caboti; Mrs. Hume's Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae; Steller's Sea Eagle Haliarrtus pelagicus; Oriental Hobby Falco severus; Chinese Monal Lophophorus ihuysii; Omei Shan liocichla Liocichla omeiensis; Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus; Blyth's Tragopan Tragopan blythii; Firethroat Erithacus pectardens; Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus; White-necked Crane Grus vipio; Fulien Slaty Bunting Latoucheornis siemsseni; Sclater's Monal Lophophorus sclateri; Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis; Brown Wood Owl Strix leptogrammica.
(36)
No condition report? Click below to request one. *Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.
Request a condition report
LANSDOWNE, J. FENWICK
Rare Birds of China. London: Kennedy Fine Arts, (1992). Copy 37 of 100, with each plate signed in pencil and thus numbered, and the same numeration in the companion text volume. Loose sheets in the elephant folio blue fabric case of publication, the text in a companion volume in wrappers laid-in, the prospectus included; the whole protected in the canvas sleeve of issue. 32 x 25 inches (81 x 63 cm); 32 superb color collotypes after the original watercolor paintings, printed on Fabriano paper; each plate is laid into a special printed Japanese paper sleeve with the plate name. Fine; Offered with the original watercolor for the plate of Temminck's Trapogan (Tragopan temminckii), plate 2 in the set. Watercolor over pencil outline on paper, approximately 28 x 19 5/8 inches (71.5 x 50 cm) sight, signed J. F. Lansdowne (l.l.) and dated 1991; framed. In immaculate condition.
The watercolors by J. Fenwick Lansdowne for this work are among the highest achievements of ornithological art. The Temminck's Trapogan, depicted here, is represented by a male, with red-orange, white-spotted plumage and a blue facial display, and the more modestly feathered brown and white-spotted female, in their natural habitat.
This elephant-folio-sized set of ornithological plates, a triumph in their artistry, follows in the tradition of the great illustrated natural history monographs of the past centuries, such as Audubon's masterpiece, The Birds of America. The artist, J. Fenwick Lansdowne, was born in 1937 in Hong Kong to British parents and grew up in British Columbia, Canada. Stricken with polio as a baby, he developed both his love of birds and his talent as a painter from a young age, holding his first museum exhibition in 1952 at the Royal British Columbia Museum when he was just fourteen years old. As one of the world's foremost wildlife painters, often referred to as Audubon's successor, he is the artist who best maintained the tradition of bird painting and publishing into the late 20th century. Similar to Audubon, he would both study his subjects in the field and use museum collections of preserved specimens to paint his highly detailed and accurate watercolors. He died in Canada in 2008.
The magnificent collotype plates include the following: Impeyan Monal Lophophorus impejanus; Temminck's Tragopan Tragopan temminckii; Satyr Tragopan Tragopan satyra; Swinhoe's Pheasant Lophura swinhoei; Elliot's Pheasant Syrmaticus ellioti; Mikado Pheasant Syrmaticus mikado; Blood Pheasant Ithaginis cruentus; Brown Eared Pheasant Crossoptilon mantchuricum; Himalayan Snowcock Tetraogallus himalayensis; Taiwan Magpie Urocissa caerulea; Chinese Parrotbill Paradoxornis heudei; Siberian Crane Grus leucogeranus; Rufous-necked Hornbill Aceros nipalensis; White Stork Iconia ciconia; Crested Ibis Nipponia nippon; White Eared Pheasant Crossoptilon crossoptilon; Japanese Crane Grus japonensis; Cabot's Tragopan Tragopan caboti; Mrs. Hume's Pheasant Syrmaticus humiae; Steller's Sea Eagle Haliarrtus pelagicus; Oriental Hobby Falco severus; Chinese Monal Lophophorus ihuysii; Omei Shan liocichla Liocichla omeiensis; Silver Oriole Oriolus mellianus; Blyth's Tragopan Tragopan blythii; Firethroat Erithacus pectardens; Scaly-sided Merganser Mergus squamatus; White-necked Crane Grus vipio; Fulien Slaty Bunting Latoucheornis siemsseni; Sclater's Monal Lophophorus sclateri; Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis; Brown Wood Owl Strix leptogrammica.
(36)
No condition report? Click below to request one. *Any condition statement is given as a courtesy to a client, is an opinion and should not be treated as a statement of fact and Doyle New York shall have no responsibility for any error or omission. Please contact the specialist department to request further information or additional images that may be available.
Request a condition report
Fine Art Including Sporting Art and Dogs in Art
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Auction of Fine Art Including Sporting Art & Dogs in Art® on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 11am
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Featuring Two Paintings of Setters by Percival Leonard Rosseau
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We Invite You to Contact Us for a Complimentary Auction Evaluation of Your Collection
NEW YORK, NY -- Paddles will be wagging at Doyle's auction of Fine Art Including Sporting Art & Dogs in Art® on Wednesday, June 11, 2025 at 11am. This exciting auction will showcase a wide range of fine art, including a special section devoted to paintings, sculpture, drawings and prints celebrating dogs, horses and sporting art. Add to an existing collection or begin a new one!
Percival Leonard Rosseau
Highlighting the sale are two works by the celebrated sporting and canine artist Percival Leonard Rosseau (1859-1937) titled Setters on Point, 1915 (est. $25,000-35,000), and A September Day, 1916 (Est. $25,000-45,000) (View Lots). Born in Louisiana, Rosseau studied at the Académie Julian in Paris under artists Jules Lefebvre, Charles Herrmann-Léon and Tony Robert-Fleury. Although he initially focused on painting the nude figure—earning an honorable mention at the Paris Salon of 1900—his artistic path would soon shift toward animal and sporting subjects. A breakthrough came in 1903 with a critically praised painting of Diana with two wolfhounds. At the 1904 Paris Salon, he exhibited two works depicting setters, which sold within hours, followed by a large-scale composition of setters and a panther at the 1906 Salon that earned him a gold medal and cemented his reputation. Remaining in France until 1915, Rosseau traveled frequently to the United States to exhibit and fulfill commissions, eventually settling in Connecticut and joining the Old Lyme artists’ colony. He also traveled to the Southern estates and hunting grounds of his wealthy patrons, including Percy Rockefeller, at Overhills, North Carolina, which became a frequent setting for his works.
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