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| Ashtar Command self-portrait |
"The Great Bird Illustrators and their art 1730-1930" is a book
by Peyton Skipwith. It features Audubon, Edward Lear, John Gould and Archibald
Thorburn, among others. Apart from reproductions of their bird-related art,
there are short biographies and presentations of each artist.
My favorite: a certain Eleazer Albin, an 18th century painter, writer and naturalist. Time and place of birth: unknown. Apart from books about birds, he also published "A Natural History of Spiders", including a chapter on bird-lice! A true generalist and Renaissance man, yes?
Overall, however, Skipwith's book is less interesting than Maureen Lambourne's "The Art of Bird Illustration", reviewed by me elsewhere.
