Philip Rickman DOWNLAND PASTURES

1961. Painting. Fine. Framed. Signed by THE ARTIST. Original. 580 x 780 mm. A magnificent, large watercolour and gouache painting, signed and dated "Philip Rickman 1961" bottom left. A typical spring downland scene, a pair of English Partridge (Grey Partridge) amongst flowering gorse. One bird standing, the other dusting; in the foreground is a Stonechat and the spring flowers Germander Speedwell and Cowslip. A well-balanced composition with big skies and long views. Finely presented in a hand-made gilt frame and acid free mount with extensive hand-drawn wash lines. Painting 580 x 780 mm, the mount and frame 860 x 1070 mm. In very good condition, no obvious fading or other defects. Superb. Rickman at his best. Provenance: Christie's, London, 15 March 1994, Watercolours and Pictures of Birds, lot 150,( made £6,900). Biography - Philip Rickman (1891 - 1982) was known affectionately as The Grand Old Man of British Bird Painting, and make no mistake, he was one of the greatest ornithological artists of the twentieth century. However Rickman is somewhat out of fashion today and his work does not always garner the attention it should. Christine Jackson writes "At his best he could match Thorburn...but he was inconsistent"* and herein lies the problem: when at his best he was outstanding, the best of the best, but he was prolific and not infrequently produced indifferent work. It is this that has sullied his reputation, but at Loe Art we strive to stock only the best examples of an artist's work and we carry a very large stock of Rickman paintings, from large monumental watercolours (such as this) to small pencil sketches full of life and vitality. To quote Christine Jackson again "[he] learnt to sketch in the field and base his work on accurate observation noting the landscape in which birds lived and how the changing weather affected the landscape. Rickman became a very skilful watercolour artist able to recreate atmosphere." This is perhaps no better displayed than when he painted birds around water, especially when raining or at the dawn, where he was able to capture evocative and ethereal scenes, utterly convincing to those observers of nature familiar with such landscapes at such times. He was precisely accurate to a minute degree but his birds looked natural. That Rickman was a naturalist who had a deep respect for his subjects shows in the manner in which he paints them in the middle of characteristic movements and traits that make them look true to life. "He was friends with both George Edward Lodge and Archibald Thorburn, where he spent time with the former at his studio and "learnt from Thorburn how to use colour to place birds in the fore-, middle and backgrounds", of whom he was a great admirer. On one occasion he commissioned Thorburn to paint a watercolour of grouse, but when it was completed, despite being delighted with it, requested Thorburn to undertake a few revisions as he felt the anatomy of the birds portrayed was incorrect. This perhaps sums up Rickman: an outstanding artist, but above all a man with a deep-seated respect for the birds he portrayed. He should be represented in every collection of ornithological art. Rickman illustrated numerous books, which are listed in the publication highlighted below.* Jackson, Christine. Dictionary of Bird Artists of the World. Antique Collectors' Club. Woodbridge, Suffolk. 1999. [All quotes from this work.].