PORTFOLIO OF BIRDS OF PREY by Claude Gibney Finch-Davies

Estimate

R1,000 - R1,200

Hammer

R800

PORTFOLIO OF BIRDS OF PREY by Claude Gibney Finch-Davies

More Information

Pretoria: Transvaal Museum, Undated

Fo, 6 loose reproductions and 2 loose sheets with descriptions of the artist and the reproductions in Afrikaans and English. In light grey cardboard folder.

Limited edition of 100 copies, of which this is no. 13. With the original invoice loosely inserted.

Claude Gibney Finch-Davies (24 May 1875 – 4 August 1920) was a British soldier, ornithologist and painter who produced a series of paintings of birds of South Africa in the early part of the 20th century. As a professional soldier Davies was posted to various remote places in the Eastern Cape, and this fostered an interest in natural history and in particular, birdlife. Within a year or two, he was collecting bird specimens and starting sketches and paintings. In his field sketchbooks he provided copious notes about each species he illustrated - at first his own field observations, but later augmented by information culled from books and scientific journals. His style of painting rapidly evolved to show great detail of the plumage while retaining a lifelike appearance. By 1905 he had produced some 200 paintings of consistently high quality.