Gould, John & H.C. Richter. “Amazilia Cyanura.” Blue-tailed Hummingbird.

John Gould & H.C. Richter.  “Amazilia Cyanura.”  Blue-tailed Hummingbird.  From A Monograph of the Trochilidae, or Family of Hummingbirds. 

London: Gould, 1849-1861.  Lithograph.  Original hand-coloring.  Very good condition.  Framed size: 33 x 26.  A/A 

John Gould (1804-1881) was one of the most respected and prolific ornithologists of all time.  As a taxidermist, traveler and accomplished artist, he created life-like and detailed images of birds from all over the world, publishing more than forty large folio volumes in his career.  Years of ornithological study yielded nearly 3,000 sumptuously rendered prints, noted for their realism and detail.  Alongside Gould, several other excellent artists worked on his prints, including H.C. Richter, J. Wolf, William Hart, and Gould's wife Elizabeth.  Working from Gould’s sketches of birds in situ, these artists completed images and lithographed them onto stones, hand-coloring each print once it was run off.  Of his works, Gould’s hummingbirds are perhaps his most famous, with their lovely, delicate compositions and their bright and vivid coloring.  For their naturalism and vibrant hand-coloring, Gould’s prints are some of the most beautiful bird prints produced, and this is a fine example of his work.

Another Gould Hummingbrd print:

“Erythronata Elegans.” Elegant Erythronote.

"Heliangelus Strophianus." Gorgeted sunangel