Pair of Watercolour Studies of Exotic Parrots by Philip Rickman

18203: Pair of Watercolour Studies of Exotic Parrots by Philip Rickman
By Rickman, Philip (British, 1891–1982)
Paper: Height 49cm, width 38cm | Frame: Height 60cm, width 49.5cm, depth 3cm

This pair of watercolours by Philip Rickman portrays yellow ringneck parakeets and a colourful gathering of Australian grass parrots, both painted against the pale blue ground characteristic of his ornithological studies and observed with the artist's customary care for plumage, attitude and expression.
The first sheet depicts two yellow ringneck parakeets poised on a slender branch amid a network of bare twigs. Their plumage, in graduated tones of lemon yellow, is offset by rose-red bills and the faint suggestion of a collar, while their long tails taper downwards in an elegant sweep. The economy of the palette and the near symmetry of the two birds give the composition a serene, decorative poise.
The companion sheet is busier in conception, assembling a flock of Australian grass parrots across a lattice of intersecting branches. Scarlet-chested Parrots,  identifiable by violet-blue faces, crimson breasts and golden underparts, mingle with turquoise-faced birds plumed in green, yellow and blue, and with a more subdued pair in soft blue green. Placed at staggered heights, the birds descend across the sheet in a cascade of colour and movement.
Both watercolours are signed in blue ink "Philip Rickman" and presented in matching gilt frames, forming a complementary and well-balanced pair of parrot studies.
Philip Rickman (1891–1982) ranks among the foremost British bird painters of the twentieth century. Largely self-taught, he exhibited widely and supplied illustrations to a great many natural history publications, and his watercolours remain admired for uniting scientific fidelity with a painter's sensibility.
$22,500