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Sir Edwin Landseer RA, A bird about to take flight and a faint sketch of a bull's head

A bird about to take flight and a faint sketch of a bull's head, ca.1810-12

Sir Edwin Landseer RA (1802 - 1873)

RA Collection: Art

Sir Edwin Landseer's lifelong passion for depicting animals is evident even in his earliest drawings. The Royal Academy's collection of early Landseer drawings includes a menagerie of domestic pets, farm stock and wild animals. Landseer and his friend and fellow artist John Frederick Lewis shared an interest in animal subjects and they are said to have acquired carcasses of foxes and game to study.

In his later work Landseer often painted birds - most frequently as dead or dying game, as in 'Windsor Castle in Modern Times' (1841-5), and 'Ptarmigan' (c.1833). However, some of his paintings, such as 'Macaw, Love Birds, Terrier and Spaniel Puppies Belonging to her Majesty' (1839), feature lively depictions of birds kept as domestic pets.

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Object details

Title
A bird about to take flight and a faint sketch of a bull's head
Artist/designer
Sir Edwin Landseer RA (1802 - 1873)
Date
ca.1810-12
Object type
Drawing
Medium
Pencil on cream wove paper
Dimensions

86 mm x 157 mm

Collection
Royal Academy of Arts
Object number
02/43
Acquisition
Given by Sir John Aird 1883
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