A Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum)

A$65,000 · Offered by Douglas Stewart Fine Books

[London, 1829]. Body colour, watercolour with touches of gum arabic, and pen and grey ink on paper watermarked J. Watman , measuring 440 x 330 mm; signed, inscribed and dated I.r. D P by Thos. Lewin 1829 ; verso inscribed in a contemporary hand in pen and brown ink: Species from New Holland (very scarce) Lewin . [and in pencil] Drawn and painted / from Nature and Correct / [xxx] Colors and all Honor[s] T. Lewin London Jany 1829 ; framed. A superb depiction of an Australian Gang-gang cockatoo by Thomas Lewin (1774-1840), son of artist William Lewin (known for his Birds of Great Britain ), and younger brother of John William Lewin (best known for his Birds of New Holland and Birds of New South Wales ). The Gang-gang cockatoo is native to southeastern Australia. The first sighting by Europeans was made in 1801 on Churchill Island, Western Port, by the crew of the Lady Nelson during its surveying voyage under the command of James Grant; the poor bird was promptly shot. Worthy of note is the fact that the artist John Lewin sailed on this expedition on board the sloop Bee , which acted as a tender for the Lady Nelson . However, he was not an eyewitness to the sighting and shooting of the unfortunate specimen, as the Bee did not call at Churchill Island that day because of inclement weather. The contemporary inscription on the verso of the present work states that it was drawn from life. This is perfectly plausible, since the Gang-gang is a hardy bird and frequently survived the voy

• Binding: Hardcover

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