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A large watercolour featuring a magpie foraging about the gnarled trunk of a tree, signed with the artist's monogram. Quintessentially R. B. Talbot Kelly, though with an unmistakable Arthur Rackham influence. Image 515 x 650 mm, frame of limed oak 710 x 870 mm, very good, mount with hand-drawn rules. Glazed. A fine painting. [Richard Barratt Talbot Kelly 1896- 1971. "No form of life lives life more fully than a bird" stated Talbot Kelly in "The Way of all Birds" and Kelly's genius was his ability to capture this vitality in his paintings. As such, he was one of the great ornithological artists of the 20th century. Talbot Kelly developed a unique style that is instantly recognisable, whether painting in watercolour, oil, or coloured inks, but he is epitomised by his use of ink outline, infilled with watercolour. His paintings are characterised by their simplicity without the distraction of unnecessary detail, his colour palette muted, a strong use of flowing sinuous line - that lives and pulses with life. But Talbot Kelly was also very aware of the grace, rhythm and pattern displayed in the movement and flight of birds, as displayed in his paintings. He was a great and sensitive observer of birds and wrote "I have spent the happiest moments of my life with birds"; not surprisingly his birds are always accurately portrayed and always with the fire of their lives. When he writes of birds he does so poetically and with obvious affection: he describes the colour of a Fulmar as that of pale cobwebs, warmer than the blue-grey gulls and he likens the "broad beam" and robust build of Eider drakes to sea-going fishing boats; he notes that Shrikes have their "weight-forward.as weight in shoulders and fists are the hallmarks of the pugilist". Such poetical interpretation and innate understanding of birds is very apparent in his paintings. But Talbot Kelly was more than just a bird painter in watercolour, he was highly versatile, and equally adept at designing posters, drawing figures, historical and military scenes, and fantastical imagery. He occasionally produced etchings and linocuts.] 0

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