Birds

The Art of Ornithology
by Jonathan Elphick

This breathtaking collection of important and beautiful ornithological art from London’s Natural History Museum traces its development from the Renaissance through the scientific approach favored in the Age of Exploration. Included in the compact volume are brilliantly reproduced artworks by the world’s great naturalists and scientists such as Audubon and Humboldt, along with the legion of Victorian explorers who catalogued the world’s avifauna before photography finally prevailed as the primary means of recording the natural world.

The lively and informative text tells how ornithological art grew out of the naturalistic tradition of European painting to become a genre of its own where the artist’s focus on aesthetics was married to the scientist’s need for precision and detail. Weaving together science, art history, biography, and travel, Birds paints a wondrous picture of a bygone world of artist-scientists, exotic birds, and faraway lands, making it truly the perfect gift for anyone who loves vintage prints and drawings or has an interest in nature or birding.

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