{"product_id":"william-hayes-carolina-wood-duck-drake-bird-original-c-1780-etching-print-kd-676","title":"William Hayes, Carolina Wood Duck Drake Bird – c.1780 hand-coloured etching","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn original c.1780 etching print – William Hayes, Carolina Wood Duck Drake Bird.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA rare ornithological study by William Hayes (1735–1802) et al. depicting a male wood duck, or Carolina duck, native to North America. Large and striking, the work is hand-coloured in watercolour and bodycolour over etched lines on watermarked Whatman laid paper. The rendering is typical of its time, isolating a single bird on a small patch of ground, with a focus on bold colouring, tending towards decorative appeal rather than strict scientific accuracy.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis picture forms part of a collection of five birds by Hayes that we have for sale.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWilliam Hayes was an 18th-century bird illustrator, known as the first artist to record a single private collection of live birds. Seven members of his family or 'pupils' collaborated on the etching and hand-colouring of his bird subjects: his wife Anne and children Charles, William, Annette, Emily, Maria and Matilda.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHayes is best-known for two publications, 'A Natural History of British Birds', 1775 and 'Portraits of Rare and Curious Birds, with their Descriptions, from the Menagery of Osterly Park [sic]', 1794–1799. The pictures in our collection do not appear to relate to a single publication. One of the plates (Sea Pie) is from 'A Natural History of British Birds', 1775; one (Ruff) is after a known watercolour by Hayes dated 1779; one (Carolina Duck) matches an engraving by Hayes signed and dated 1780; the final two (male and female Curassow) are subjects that feature in 'Portraits of Rare and Curious Birds' but the poses of the birds differ.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHayes evidently produced illustrations that did not ultimately end up in his publications. It is also possible that the pictures relate to another extremely rare compilation by Hayes, 'The Portraits of British and Exotic Birds Coloured from Nature', 1778, of which only a single copy is known. This included birds belonging to one of Hayes's early patrons, the Earl of Sandwich.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Somerset \u0026 Wood","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54609180164425,"sku":"KD-676","price":148.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0930\/4306\/5161\/files\/KD-676.jpg?v=1781601285","url":"https:\/\/somersetandwood.com\/it\/products\/william-hayes-carolina-wood-duck-drake-bird-original-c-1780-etching-print-kd-676","provider":"Somerset \u0026 Wood Fine Art","version":"1.0","type":"link"}