The Spring Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park, 19th– 24th April 2016
His Majesty (Head of a Lion)
Signed in pencil by the artist
Published in April 1888
by C.E. Clifford & Co., London
23½ x 18½ in / 59.5 x 47 cm
Exhibited: RA 1888, No. 1595
While the theme for the foyer exhibition at the Fair is of works of art and designs with a royal connection or association I thought that I would bring this rather special exhibition on the stand of Nicholas Price to your attention.
The works featured are the remarkable black-and-white etchings of twenty-five big cats, including lions, tigers and leopards by the noted wildlife artist Herbert Dicksee (1862-1942). What makes them remarkable is that Dicksee studied and drew them from life, spending long hours in London’s Zoo in Regent’s Park.
Play (Two Leopards at play)
Signed in pencil by the artist
Published in May 1907
by Frost & Reed Ltd,
19¾ x 26½ in / 50 x 67.5 cm
Exhibited: R.A. 1907, No. 1379
As Nicholas Price says: “Few artists have been able to capture the incredible majesty of lions, tigers and other big cats of the world like Herbert Dicksee. Dicksee was a naturally gifted draughtsman and a master of the art of etching, a complex printmaking technique whereby a chemical reaction is used to incise lines onto a metal plate. His etchings were produced to a remarkably high standard and combine both meticulous observation and detail with notably free facility of line. The result is both impressive and seemingly effortless.”
If you are wondering why you don’t see more of them around in galleries and elsewhere the answer lies in the fact that he instructed his daughter as his executor to destroy most of the plates for his etchings.
The Watcher on the Hill (Recumbent Tiger)
Signed in pencil by the artist
Published in January 1900
by Frost & Reed, Ltd,
18¼ x 27 in / 46.5 x 68.5 cm
Exhibited: R.A. 1900, No.1564
After the Fair the works will go on show at The Park Gallery, 26 Connaught Street, London W2 from 26th April 26 – 6th May 2016
Tim Forrest's E & A 