Rex Brasher Hand-Colored Print of the American Woodcock, Birds & Trees of North America, C. 1929–1932

Details

Description

An original hand-colored print of the American Woodcock by the acclaimed American bird artist Rex Brasher (1869–1960), from his monumental … Read more An original hand-colored print of the American Woodcock by the acclaimed American bird artist Rex Brasher (1869–1960), from his monumental Birds and Trees of North America. Two woodcock are captured in low flight over a bare winter thicket, their intricate plumage rendered in the soft palette that distinguishes Brasher's work — often regarded as the modern successor to Audubon.

See the nice attached article on Brasher, who resolved as young man that he would paint all the birds in North America in their natural habitats. Brasher spent more than four decades accomplishing just this. Unable to afford color printing, he devised an ingenious solution: black-and-white base images were produced by the Meriden Gravure Company, and Brasher hand-colored each one himself using stencils and an airbrush. Between 1929 and 1932 he completed just 100 twelve-volume sets — roughly 90,000 individually hand-colored prints — making each an original work in its own right.

This example is plate no. 228, with Brasher's printed name in the plate and his hand-inked signature and "RB" monogram at lower right. Presented in a wood frame with a warm cream mat and hand-drawn mat lines.

A distinguished piece for a study, library, sporting room, or any collector of Audubon-tradition natural history art. It was part of a gallery wall in a country estate in Vermont and would be great for another gallery wall.

Reference

https://rexbrasher.org/collection/birds-and-trees See less