GOULD, Elizabeth.

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Original watercolour of a gyrfalcon. A superbly executed study by the ornithological artist Elizabeth Gould, predating any of her published work. Gould's watercolours are largely held in institutional collections and are rarely seen on the market.Her subject is the gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), the largest of the falcons. An apex predator of Arctic and sub-Arctic regions, it is adapted to extreme conditions and preys chiefly on ptarmigan and waterfowl. In medieval and early modern Europe, white gyrfalcons - the so-called "Princesses of the North" - were especially prized for their plumage, while trade to the Muslim Mediterranean was notably lucrative. The market is discussed by the Mamluk-era historian Abū al-Fidā and by the chronicler Ibn Nazīf al-Hamawī. Today, the species remains highly valued in the UAE for its size, beauty, and hunting prowess.Elizabeth Gould (1804-1841) holds an important yet often overlooked place in Victorian natural history. Working in collaboration with her husband, John Gould, she produced some 650 plates for publications including A Century of Birds from the Himalaya Mountains (1831-32) and Birds of Europe (1832-37). Many of the European species were drawn from life rather than from preserved specimens, lending her images a distinctive naturalism. Her style marks a departure from the more rigid conventions of earlier artists such as George Edwards, while her training under Edward Lear refined her skill in lithography, a medium she helped to popula

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