Birds: The Art of Ornithology

by Jonathan Elphick

Overview

Jonathan Elphick tells the remarkable story of the development of bird art through the centuries.

The book features early, skillfully executed but often fanciful images of birds, scientific illustrations produced during the ages of exploration, and modern approaches capturing the essence of these freest of all creatures.

This reduced size edition is chunky yet portable, and retains the lavish finish of the original gift book. The outstanding selection of images from the unrivaled collection at the Natural History Museum includes exquisitely crafted works from some of the most famous bird artists ever published including Audubon, Lear, MacGillivray and Gould.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780565095512
Publisher:	Natural History Museum, London
Publication date:	09/17/2024
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 7.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Jonathan Elphick is a wildlife writer, editor, consultant, lecturer and broadcaster, specializing in ornithology. During a career spanning almost 40 years, he has written many books including The Atlas of Bird Migration, Birds: A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior, and The World of Birds. He was a researcher for Birds & People (2013), the largest survey of cultural attitudes to birds worldwide, and spent five years as a researcher on the acclaimed Birds Britannica (2005).

Editorial Reviews

This enjoyable read weaves parallel themes of art, science, and bird-watching into a survey of ornithological art from early representations in the mid-1600s to the present day. Elphick, a popular British writer, broadcaster, and zoologist, details the evolution of the form, from Sarah Stone's fanciful illustrations to the observational images of Dr. Ferdinand Lucas Bauer, and also considers the development of different media, such as watercolors, woodcuts, engravings, etching techniques, and lithography. He also includes biographical sketches for such significant bird artists as the English painter Edward Lear and the famous American John James Audubon, whose dramatic Birds of America transcends the ornithological. The book is divided chronologically into four segments: "Engravers & Explorers 1600-1800," "Audubon to the First Lithographers 1800-1850," "The Golden Age of Lithography 1850-1890," and "An Age of Transition 1890-Today." Each chapter provides a textual summary followed by a series of lavish color plates (300 total) drawn from the repository of images in London's Natural History Museum. Patrons looking for further reading on the subject may wish to consult last year's beautiful and informative Audubon's Elephant by Duff Hart-Davis. Recommended for natural history, museum, and large public library collections.-Ellen Bates, New York Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

…bountiful…The book comes in a boxed set with 36 frameable prints that capture the astonishing range of artistry in this field.

The New York Times Book Review - Dominique Browning

"We couldn't be more enthusiastic about Birds (and birds). It is a dazzling production ... fully in the Audubon tradition"
—RalphMag

From the Publisher