William Neave Parker, Corvid Birds Illustration – mid-C20th gouache painting
William Neave Parker, Corvid Birds Illustration – mid-C20th gouache painting
William Neave Parker, Corvid Birds Illustration – mid-C20th gouache painting
William Neave Parker, Corvid Birds Illustration – mid-C20th gouache painting

William Neave Parker Corvid Birds Illustration

£410.00
£410.00
Sold
View the full Collection: Parker, William Neave (1910–1961)

An original mid-20th-century gouache painting – William Neave Parker, Corvid Birds from 'Wonderful World of Nature: Birds'.

An outstanding sheet of bird illustrations by the British natural history artist William Neave Parker (1910–1961).

Neave Parker used his talent for drawing and love of wildlife to show natural history imagery to a non-specialist audience. He collaborated with London's Natural History Museum in the mid 20th century, and is particularly known for his illustrations of prehistoric flora and fauna and his reconstructions of dinosaurs.

In this illustration Parker characteristically paints a variety of corvid birds with beautiful precision and detail, including the hooded crow, magpie, jay and black-collared jay. The colours are exceptionally vibrant and the pencil line is particularly sensitively drawn.

The painting is the original artwork for Dr Maurice Burton's book 'Wonderful World of Nature: Birds'. Dr Burton was a zoologist who had a long career at the Natural History Museum, from 1926 to 1958.

Painted in gouache with graphite on artist board with hinged cover sheet.

Artist's stamp on the cover sheet and publisher stamp on the verso: The Gawthorn Press Ltd.

+ Read the S&W Collection Research

This is one of a collection of paintings by William Neave Parker (1910–1961) that we have for sale.

After an early career in banking and having served with the RAF during World War II, William Neave Parker (1910–1961) made the acquaintance of Maurice Burton, a scientific associate at the Natural History Museum in London and honorary science editor at the Illustrated London News. With a shared desire to bring natural history to a non-technical readership, the pair collaborated on a series of drawings of prehistoric animals, first published in the Illustrated London News in 1950.

Burton then introduced Parker to William Elgin Swinton (1900–1994), palaeontologist at the Natural History Museum, and thereafter Parker worked on series of illustrations for the museum. Of particular note were a series of Jurassic and Cretaceous animals which were published in the Illustrated London News between 1956 and 1960. He also produced book illustrations and linocut and wood engraving prints.

COA
+ Artwork Details

Dimensions: Height: 34.4cm (13.54") Width: 24.1cm (9.49")

Presented: Unframed.

Medium: Gouache

Age: Mid-20th-century

Signed: Signed lower left.

Inscribed: No.

Dated: --

Condition: In very good condition for its age, with vibrant colours. Pinholes to the margins as shown. Minor creasing and toning to the cover sheet. Please see photos for detail.

Stock number: KC-071