Kingfisher

Henry Constantine Richter 1821 - 1902

Summary

A hand-coloured lithograph of two Kingfishers sitting on a drooping plant-stem gaze to the left of the image while the bird closest to the right holds a small fish in his beak. They are surrounded by tall grass and and sit above a pond or a lake partially covered by water-lillies. John Gould, known as the 'bird man', was the leading publisher of bird illustrations in Victorian Britain. Kingfisher is one of 367 plates from his 'Birds of Great Britain' issued between 1862 and 1873 in five volumes. It was the most comprehensive record of British birds to date and a significant artistic and scientific achievement. Gould drew many of the initial rough sketches himself which were then passed on for completion to the skilled illustrator Henry Richter.