Lot 21: WILLIAM GOWE FERGUSON

WILLIAM GOWE FERGUSON SCOTLAND 1633/4 - AFTER 1695 A FALCONRY STILL LIFE WITH A DEAD PARTRIDGE, SONGBIRDS, AND HUNTING ATTRIBUTES HANGING ON A ROPE signed lower right: W.G. Ferguson fc. oil on canvas 61.8 by 47.5 cm.

Anonymous sale, Amsterdam, Paul Brandt, 20 November 1973, lot 27.

Although born in Scotland, Ferguson most likely trained in the Netherlands. In 1660 he is recorded in The Hague, and in 1682, he moved to Amsterdam where he married a Dutch woman. His paintings, mainly still lifes of dead game and fowl, clearly show the influence of Jan Weenix (1640/41-1719) and Cornelis van Lelienbergh (circa 1620-after 1676).

This painting appears to be one of the most exquisite still lifes in the artist's œuvre. The subtle light falling on the uneven plaster wall gives the composition a convincing sense of depth, projecting the meticulously rendered birds beyond the picture plane towards the viewer. Two other game still lifes, signed and dated, are in the Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam (inv. nos. A1290 and A2154).υ1

1. See P.J.J. van Thiel et al., Alle Schilderijen van het Rijksmuseum te Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1976, p. 226.