The art of peacock illustration

I have the 1991 edition of this book, "The Art of Bird Illustration" by Maureen Lambourne. It's one of the best art books I've ever seen, and will work perfectly both as a birthday gift or a coffee table book for you own humble self.

The author admits that the book is "a pictorial introduction" rather than a "comprehensive survey", but I think its comprehensive enough for the general reader. It shows paintings and other illustrations of birds from ancient Egypt, Rome, medieval bestiaries and the Renaissance. The modern period is represented by Audubon, John and Elizabeth Gould, Archibald Thornburn, among others. Weirdly, the accomplished Swedish bird painter Lars Jonsson have been left out - the only drawback with this otherwise excellent work.

On a funnier note, a few illustrations by John Ruskin have been included, including "Study of a Kingfisher". I didn't know Ruskin was into birds! I always imagined he was more interested in Venetian churches and perhaps mysterious red-headed females...

The book also contains an appendix about print collecting. Although "The art of bird illustration" is a real book with both texts and illustrations, I found the illustrations (all in color) to be its strongest side. My favourite: "Peacock and peacock" by Archibald Thornburn, a painting which shows a peacock looking down at a peacock butterfly! OK, that's my humor.

Please note that this is a review of the 1991 edition. I don't know how the current edition looks like. Hopefully, it's even better!

:-)