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The Artist

   J. Fenwick Lansdowne, often described as the successor to John James Audubon,
   was born in 1937 to British parents in Hong Kong. He died in Victoria B.C.,
   Canada - where he had lived for many years - just before his 70th birthday in the
   summer of 2008. Confined to bed in his childhood by polio, Lansdowne was
   taught to paint by his mother, herself an accomplished artist trained in traditional
   Chinese watercolor techniques. Since his first exhibition at the age of fifteen,
   Lansdowne's art has been exhibited internationally and is represented in many
   major collections. The books which he has illustrated and written have also won
   Lansdowne critical acclaim. S. Dillon Ripley , Secretary Emeritus of the Smithsonian
   Institution, chose Lansdowne to illustrate his definitive ornithological monograph,
   Rails of the World, published in 1977. The images completed for this text are
   outstanding examples of the fidelity of color and ornithological detail for which
   Lansdowne is known.

The Portfolio

    Rare Birds of China is Lansdowne's most recent project, one which required
    almost ten years to complete. It was commissioned in 1984 as a unique record
    of China's rare and endangered birds. From its inception, it has been a truly
    international project. The thirty-two birds in the series were selected with the
    help of leading Chinese ornithologists, Professors Cheng Tso-Hsin and Hsu
    Weishu. This list was compiled with a particular concern for those species
    increasingly threatened by environmental hazards and loss of habitat.
    Lansdowne traveled extensively in China, visiting museums and observing birds
    in zoos and in their natural habitats. Museums in China, England and North
    America provided advice and assistance with the loan of bird skins for the artist's
    reference. British mountaineer Chris Bonington took detailed photographs
    of the habitats of Himalayan species for the artist's use.

The Prints

A series of 32 collotype prints by J.F. Lansdowne.
Printed on Fabriano 160 g/m 100 % Rag, measuring 32 x 25 inches.

Edition

One hundred print sets, signed by the artist and numbered 1/100
to 100/100, available for sale worldwide.

Printing Data

    Printed over a three and a half year period, completed in early 1994,
    in up to 12 colors. Hand-pulled on nineteenth century presses at Jaffe
    Collotype, Vienna. All printing plates destroyed after editioning;
    documentation of the destruction of these materials on record.

Presentation

    Each set of 32 prints is accompanied by a brochure containing an
    introduction by S. Dillon Ripley and detailed ornithological notes by
    Professor Hsu Weishu of the Beijing Natural History Museum and
    Michael P. Walters of the Natural History Museum (Tring) in the
    United Kingdom. The portfolio and brochure are contained in a
    presentation box for archival storage, specially designed and made
    by A. W. Lumsden, Bookbinders, of Edinburgh.

Price

The full boxed set of 32 prints is available for $25,000. each.
A limited number of individual prints are available for $1,000. each.

You may click on each individual image for a larger view