A Rising Family

A great admirer of the nature artists John James Audubon and Edwin Henry Landseer, Arthur Fitzwilliam Tait acquired a love for animals during his childhood. He produced his first sketches at the age of 13. Self-taught, the artist excelled at creating images of nature and especially enjoyed depicting families of birds. In fact, about one-quarter of Tait's known paintings of more than 1700 canvases are devoted to images of wild and domestic birds. More than thirty of Tait's paintings were transformed into lithographs by Currier & Ives, including this homey scene of snipes, birds related to the wood cock, raising their brood of five chicks. The father bird stands at attention, looking for danger, while the mother looks after their young.

Date: 1857

Users, log in to add this piece to your personal lightbox

Return To Search Results