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MARY FEDDEN. ROBIN. 1982. SOLD


MARY FEDDEN. ROBIN. 1982. SOLD

MARY FEDDEN. ROBIN. SOLD

Size: 4.5″ x 6″

Signed and dated: Fedden 1982

Framing: Spanish 19th century silvered moulding frame

Provenance: Christie’s

Literature:
illustrated page 36, Mary Fedden Enigmas and Variations (Christopher Andreae 2007)
illustrated page 193, Mary Fedden and Julian Trevelyan – Life and Art by the River Thames (José Manser 2012)

Note: This painting is reproduce as a Christmas card by the Royal Academy of Arts.

 

mary-fedden-robin-frame

MARY FEDDEN. ROBIN.

 

MARY FEDDEN. ROBIN.

Birds is a common theme in Mary Fedden’s paintings. They feature over and again, whether incidental or as the main focal point of a work.

Mary Fedden Birds

MARY FEDDEN ‘BIRDS’ BOOK

In 1999, Mary Fedden published Birds, a little book showcasing a wonderful collection of original watercolours inspired by one of her favourite subjects. In the foreword to the book, Mel Gooding, author and critic, writes “Mary Fedden’s birds are not the birds of the guide book and handbook, schematically delineated for use in the identification, or those of the great ornithological albums, such as those of Audubon, Gould or Thorburn, whose subjects are described with the definitive accuracy of scientist and the grace of the gifted enthusiast. They are the birds of her life, casually seen and enjoyed in gardens and parks, encountered with joy on a holiday walk by the sea, glimpsed from a window on the familiar river and its muddy banks, or found with unabashed pleasure in guidebooks or albums. They are, in the true sense of the word, appropriated: that is to say, taken out of nature and of art, and made her own.

“Their nests and eggs were never seen but in these paintings. Fedden’s birds are never symbolic, and only in the most general sense emblematic, as, inescapably, all birds are in our culture. They spring to a poetic life of their own in her paintings. I know of no one who knows and loves birds in nature, amongst the most dedicated of birdwatchers and the most assiduous of ornithologists, who does not love Fedden’s birds for their quickness and quiddity in her art.”

This small but perfectly formed painting, Robin, is painted in gouache on handmade paper. It is a great example of Mary Fedden’s bird paintings. If you think that you may have seen this painting somewhere before, you could be right… the Royal Academy of Arts selected Robin as one of their incredibly popular Royal Academy Christmas cards. In addition, it has been selected for illustration in two major works on Mary Fedden:

 

MARY FEDDEN. ROBIN. SOLD. Sorry, this painting is sold.

Skill

Gouache/waterclour

MARY FEDDEN FOR SALE

Sorry, this painting is sold.