Birds: the Art of Ornithology
Most people think of the Natural History Museum as a place that only contains stuffed animals, but away from the public areas it is also home to a million books and – even more importantly – a collection of half a million natural history illustrations.
For obvious reasons, it is not possible to make these widely available for public inspection, but in Birds: the Art of Ornithology we are given an insight to some of the collection’s gems, demonstrating how bird art has developed over the years.
This is a sumptuous publication printed on fine paper with excellent depth of colour. In most cases it includes images of large paintings that have been reduced in size, but it also goes to the other extreme by taking some small illustrations and enlarging them.
Among the artists featured are a number that I had never heard of before, and among my favourite illustrations are some for which the artist is simply not known. A great example of this is the Temminck’s Tragopan that adorns the book’s cover.
Four sections analyse each of the main periods in which bird art developed in a particular direction. The early engravers prior to 1800 are treated in some detail. In a way, we should perhaps admire their work more than those who followed, as they had few tools and were the trailblazers of ornithological illustration. I would have liked to see more of Thomas Bewick’s work here, but I suppose you could argue that his work has been profiled fully elsewhere. By contrast, I had never previously seen any work by Sarah Stone, but I question whether her contribution justifies 10 plates.
Similarly, the section covering 1800-1850 includes 16 examples by John James Audubon and 13 by William MacGillivray. I am not criticising their ground-breaking work, but simply the emphasis that it has been given.
The main problem the book faces is that by using items held by the museum, the author has faced some limitations on his choice of works.
Although almost every significant artist is mentioned, it is a shame that more works have not been included. For example, there are only two plates by the highly influential German artist Joseph Wolf, whose style was adopted by Archibald Thorburn.
In the section covering The Golden Age of Lithography there are great examples by Edward Lear, John Gerardus Keulemans and that great duo, John and Elizabeth Gould. In those days everyone worked from specimens, and Gould illustrated all of the known hummingbird species despite having never seen one alive.
The final section covers from 1890 to the current day. There are a number of examples by Henrik Grönvold, who painted specimens for the museum before embarking on a highly successful career as a book illustrator. To me his illustrations are flat compared to those by George Edward Lodge, whose designs are life-like and dynamic.
In a way, this section of the book is the weakest. Yes, there are examples of key artists such as Frederick William Frohawk and Claude Gibney Finch-Davies, but just one by Charles Tunnicliffe. What about Eric Ennion, Peter Scott and Robert Gillmor? My early birding life was dominated by them and by Basil Ede, Raymond Harris Ching and Arthur Singer – none of whom are even mentioned in this work.
While I am rather critical of the limited range of illustrations used, I am full of praise for the background research that has gone into this book, with a wealth of information on every page. Jonathan Elphick writes in an easy style that really makes it an enjoyable book to read.
For a wide range of birding books, some at excellent discount prices, please go to the Birdwatch Bookshop.
Tech spec
Birds: the Art of Ornithology by Jonathan Elphick (Scriptum Editions, London, 2004).
336 pages, with 104 colour illustrations.
ISBN 9780847827060. Hbk, £45.