Lot 23500: Lewin, Original Watercolor - Tree Finch. 78

This wonderful, original watercolor is from the beautiful ornithological collection by William Lewin entitled The Birds of Great Britain. Lewin created just 60 sets of these unique original watercolors. Lewin traced each image by hand then colored them himself. Its scarcity has lead it to be known as “The rarest of all English bird books.”

Lewin was “the best zoological painter, and one of the most practical naturalists of his day,” according to Swainson. Not only depicting the birds, Lewin also rendered the eggs of each bird found in his work. The birds themselves are captured in lifelike poses, quite to the contrast of other works during this period. This superb first edition is distinguished from the second edition in which the plates are slightly smaller and are hand-colored engravings rather than original watercolors. In all, Lewin painted over 20,000 watercolors for the 60 sets, an enormous feat for any individual. Great Bird Books gives this delightful work its highest rating of three stars.

~ 10" by 13"

Original Watercolor

1789-1794

The work is in good to excellent condition overall. The work can have a few faint marks, text offset, or light oxidation of the paint. The majority of the watercolors are in very good to excellent condition, but please do review the image carefully, and please contact us with any questions.

The Birds of Great Britain