Falcon in Flight
Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927)
Louis Agassiz Fuertes was the most widely acclaimed American
ornithological artist of his time. Born in Ithaca, New York, Fuertes began
drawing birds at an early age, inspired by Audubon’s Birds of America. By the
time he was seventeen, his illustrations had qualified him as an associate
member of the American Ornithologists’ Union. Fuertes quickly became associated
with leading ornithological scientists and artists, and he received
professional commissions while still an undergraduate at Cornell. Fuertes went
on to produce a vast body of work for an extremely broad range of projects. His
paintings and drawings invariably convey the artist’s extremely careful study
of his subjects’ form and behavior, and his diligence, precision and skill in
draftsmanship produced some of the most animated and engaging bird
illustrations of the twentieth century. Fuertes was determined to study and
draw birds as they behaved in their natural habitats, unlike his predecessors,
including Audubon, who took the easier route of drawing from stuffed specimens.
As a result of this scrupulous and sensitive study of living birds, his works
are characterized by a much greater accuracy and sense of vitality. Perhaps
more than any of the other great bird artists, Fuertes’ birds are always full
of life. In the book “A Celebration of Birds: The Life and Art of Louis Agassiz
Fuertes,” the noted specialist on ornithological art Roger Tory Peterson notes
that even today “most bird painters are still influenced directly or indirectly
by Fuertes...” Fuertes traveled widely to broaden his knowledge of birds and
their habitats. In 1899, for example, he accompanied the Harriman Expedition to
Alaska, a group that traveled up the coast as far as Plover Bay in Siberia.
Sponsored by the railroad an mining magnate Edward Harriman, the elaborately
outfitted expedition included well-known scientists such as John Burroughs and
John Muir, landscape artists Frederick Dellenbaugh and Robert Swain Gifford,
and photographer Edward Curtis. By that time, Fuertes was widely acclaimed
himself, his illustrations having been disseminated in a number of
publications. Yet his original watercolors, the most compelling testaments to
the unparalleled abilities of this great bird artist, are quite rare.
At Arader Galleries we have in our collection the charming and detailed
drawing of the Falcon in Flight. It was
given as a Christmas gift to Henry “Harry” L. Ferguson in December 1923 by the
artist, who was Mr. Ferguson’s friend and hunting partner. After H.L.
Ferguson’s death in 1959, the work was inherited by his son, Charlie. After
Charlie’s death this past January, Arader galleries acquired this fine work by
Fuertes. Henry L. Ferguson, a son of one of island’s owners, served as the
president of the Fishers Island Farms for more than 40 years, and was involved
in many aspects of the Island’s development. His true passions, however, had
little to do with business. He was an avid amateur ornithologist who loved to
collect and study Fishers Island bird life, and a self-taught archaeologist who
spent countless hours scouring the Island for Native American artifacts.
LOUIS AGASSIZ FUERTES (AMERICAN, 1874-1927), Falcon in Flight, watercolor and gouache
on paper, signed ‘Louis Agassiz Fuertes’ l.l. Inscribed ‘To Harry Ferguson
Recalling Many Happy Days at Fisher Island With a Merry Christmas from Louis
Agassiz Fuertes’ Dated ‘Dec 25 1923’ l.l., 1923.
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