DRAKE PINTAIL IN WINTERY LANDSCAPE [Watercolour & Gouache]

1964. Painting. Fine. Framed. 530 x 370 mm. Signed and dated 1964, bottom left; 53 x 37 cm, gouache and watercolour. Framed and glazed, original limed-oak frame (76 x 62 cm), recent Larson Juhl extra thick (2.4mm) acid-free mountboard and under-mount. This work was painted in the year in which Basil Ede became a full-time artist, his reputation was rapidly growing and he was at the height of his powers. It was probably exhibited at either the 1964 or 1965 Tryon Gallery shows (see biography and notes below). In excellent condition (an out-of-frame inspection has revealed no damage and no noticeable fading.) A superb example of Basil Ede's work. [Biography and Notes. BASIL EDE (12 February 1931-29 September 2016). "Probably the finest living painter of wild birds, an acknowledged master in the art of portraying them", so proclaimed Frank Lewis in his Dictionary of British Bird Painters (1974). As a child Basil Ede displayed a propensity for drawing and on leaving school he attended Kingston School of Art, but as with all men of his generation, his artistic career was interrupted by National Service. Following his service, he joined the Merchant Navy, working for Orient Steam Navigation Company, as a purser, regularly visiting the Far East and here he was drawn to Oriental Art, which profoundly influenced his painting style. Amongst his first commissions were designs for Cunard's menu cards. By the late 1950s, Basil Ede was beginning to emerge into the art world; his first exhibition was held at the Rowland Ward Gallery in 1958, but it was during the 1960s that his reputation (and fame) was established. He held five exhibitions at London's Tryon Gallery (1960, 1962, 1964, 1965 & 1968). In 1964 he became a fulltime painter and in the same year was awarded the first ever solo exhibition of a living artist at the Smithsonian, Washington DC. These were followed by exhibitions in 1966 and 1971 at the Kennedy Galleries, Inc. in New York. Ede's highly successful book Birds of Town and Country was also published during this period (text by Robert Dougall, pub. Country Life, 1965) which brought him to an wider audience. It ran to many editions, and was followed in 1980 by Basil Ede's Birds (Severn House, London, 1980) again written by Robert Dougall, the then Vice-President of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and featured 70 full colour reproductions of his work. Other publishers, noting Ede's rapidly growing reputation, were queuing up to commission him and soon his work appeared on cards, postcards, calendars, place mats and porcelain as well as affordable open-edition prints. He was profiled in magazines and the Sunday supplements and became a household name. But Ede's success was not limited to the UK, in The United States he continued to have shows and expeditions, culminating in 1991 with the publication of Wild Birds of America: The Art of Basil Ede (written by Robert McCracken, Peck, pub. Harry. N. Abrams.) Following a severe stroke in 1989, Ede was left with his right arm paralysed and taught himself to paint with his left hand instead. "I lost the use of my right side completely and I couldn't speak." he later told Nigel Reynolds in an interview for The Daily Telegraph in November 1999. He switched his chosen medium from watercolour to oils. Within a year he was once again painting competently and within three he was able to paint in considerable detail. Basil Ede's appeal has not waned and he is still considered one of, if not the foremost, ornithological artist of his generation. His work is always in demand and heavily contested at auction. Basil Ede was also one of the founder members of the Society of Wildlife Artists. and a life member and active supporter of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.[23]].