Red Bird of Paradise
(Uranornis Rubra)
Original hand-colored stone lithograph from the "Birds of New Guinea".
John Gould (1804-1881), probably the most famous British Ornithologist and a contemporary of America’s own John James Audubon had truly earned the nickname “the Bird man” with his prolific publication of as many as 2999 paintings of Birds! He was referred to as the "British Audubon" by Isabella Tree who published his biography entitled "The Ruling Passion of John Gould" (Grove Weidenfeld, New York, 1991). In fact, during his stay in England, Audubon met with John Gould, and it may be likely that John Gould was influenced by Audubon's life-like paintings of birds. A taxidermist initially by profession, John Gould traveled around the world, collected bird skins from different countries and published the “Birds of Great Britain, The Birds of Asia, The Birds of Australia, The Birds of New Guinea, A Monograph of the Trochilidae or Family of Humming-Birds, The Birds of Europe, A Monograph of Ramphastidae or Family of Toucans, A Monograph of the Trogonidae or family of Trogons, and A Century of Birds hitherto unfigured from the Himalaya Mountains”. His Birds were printed as hand-colored stone lithographs, with most of the initial compositional drawings made by John Gould himself with subsequent background detail fill-in and hand-coloring work done by some of the most talented artists that he employed.
Original hand-colored stone lithograph from the "Birds of New Guinea".
John Gould (1804-1881), probably the most famous British Ornithologist and a contemporary of America’s own John James Audubon had truly earned the nickname “the Bird man” with his prolific publication of as many as 2999 paintings of Birds! He was referred to as the "British Audubon" by Isabella Tree who published his biography entitled "The Ruling Passion of John Gould" (Grove Weidenfeld, New York, 1991). In fact, during his stay in England, Audubon met with John Gould, and it may be likely that John Gould was influenced by Audubon's life-like paintings of birds. A taxidermist initially by profession, John Gould traveled around the world, collected bird skins from different countries and published the “Birds of Great Britain, The Birds of Asia, The Birds of Australia, The Birds of New Guinea, A Monograph of the Trochilidae or Family of Humming-Birds, The Birds of Europe, A Monograph of Ramphastidae or Family of Toucans, A Monograph of the Trogonidae or family of Trogons, and A Century of Birds hitherto unfigured from the Himalaya Mountains”. His Birds were printed as hand-colored stone lithographs, with most of the initial compositional drawings made by John Gould himself with subsequent background detail fill-in and hand-coloring work done by some of the most talented artists that he employed.
