Lot details
Isaac Spackman (c.1700-1771) Bird studies - ''West Indian long-tailed Parakeet holding an apple''; ''Perky-looking Ouzel''; ''Touraco''; ''Great Horned Owl''; and ''Hen Goldfinch and American Humming Bird'', inscribed on labels );verso (x3), watercolours on embossed paper, 24 x 17.5cms; 9 1/2 x 6 3/4in. (a suite of 5 together with a Country Life Magazine, January 25 1979, containing an article relating to Spackman's embossed bird pictures. NB Isaac Spackman's (1700-1771) bird pictures are important examples of the embossing technique used primarily in the mid 18th Century. Samuel Dixon (d.1796) was the reputed inventor of 'basso relievo' and an influence on his contemporary Spackman. A mould was formed and pushed through the back of the paper, to be hand-coloured later. Like Dixon, Spackman was heavily influenced by the bird illustrations of George Edwards in 'Natural History of Uncommon Birds' (1749-1751). Spackman's backgrounds by comparison to those of Edwards and Dixon were simpler: he worked alone in his studio and it would have proven too laborious to achieve detail in both the birds and foliage. This simplification gives the Artist his characteristic style. See illustration