Norfolk artists’ work to take flight at ornithological auction

Norfolk has always been something of a magnet for artists, as well, drawn by the clean light, peaceful countryside and creativity-friendly ambience of the county. So perhaps it was inevitable that wildlife art, and in particular ornithological art, should play such an important part.

Keys Fine Art Auctioneers (Image: Newman Associates PR)

This kind of art is much in demand, not just because it combines two popular passions, but also because it tends to be decorative and accessible. Our regular Ornithology Sales elicit interest not just locally, but nationally and internationally.

The next such sale is next week – and among a wonderful collection of taxidermy, books on natural history and wildlife art are works by three important 20th century artists who made their reputation in Norfolk.

John Cyril Harrison was one of the first artists to specialise in depicting birds in flight. Other artists had largely failed to make their flying birds look alive, but Harrison made a special study of the characteristic flight of different species, and as a result his pictures were extremely convincing, especially when he captured the bird flying directly towards the viewer – a particularly difficult one to portray.

John Cyril Harrison ‘Nyasaland and Hluhluwe’, estimate £100-£150 (Image: Keys Auctioneers and Valuers)

Harrison was born in Wiltshire in 1898, but like many wildlife artists, ended up living in Norfolk, although his work also took him to far-flung locations such as South Africa, Portuguese East Africa and Iceland. He was very involved with conservation in the Norfolk Broads, and every year he donated one of his watercolours to Norfolk Naturalists’ Trust for its Christmas cards. He died in 1985.

Roland Green was born in Kent in 1890. The son of a taxidermist, he was trained in the skinning, stuffing and setting up of birds, thus learning intimately about their anatomy and plumage. This was the foundations of his reputation as an ornithological artist; he was still a schoolboy when he developed a gift for drawing and painting wildlife.

Green settled in a disused drainage mill at Hickling in Norfolk, where he spent many thousands of hours in the reedbeds. His works capture much of the wild beauty of the location, as well as the birds themselves. He was particularly skilled at portraying birds in flight.

Roland Green ‘Pheasants on the Stubble’, estimate £150-£200 (Image: Keys Auctioneers and Valuers)

He was commissioned by Lord Desborough of the Hickling Estate to paint four long friezes at Whiteslea Lodge, depicting the birds of Hickling Broad, which are still there today. Green died in 1972 at the Hickling home where he had lived for more than half a century.

Born in Essex in 1917, Hugh Brandon-Cox was the son of a well-known naturalist and explorer, Colonel John Brandon-Cox, who was killed during a Zulu uprising in South Africa a few months before Hugh was born. Despite the fact he never knew him, his father remained an important influence on Hugh, who decided to follow in his footsteps as an explorer.

Despite travelling widely in Norway and the Arctic Circle, Brandon-Cox was inspired mainly by the wind-swept expanses of the north Norfolk coast, and wrote books which evoked the timeless quality of the Norfolk countryside. He became renowned for his watercolours of Norfolk country scenes and wildlife, which remain eagerly sought-after by collectors.  

He died in 2004, aged 86.

Keys Ornithology, Taxidermy, Natural History & Sporting Sale takes place on Wednesday, September 13. Full details can be found at keysauctions.co.uk