Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1924)
Three Crows
signed "Louis Agassiz Fuertes" lower right
watercolor, 14 by 8 1/2 in.

This work appeared in a 1919 issue of "Bird-Lore," which was the magazine of the Audubon Societies for over forty years. It depicts three varieties of crows: 1. Crow, 2. Fish Crow, 3. Northwest Crow.

Louis Agassiz Fuertes was named after the famous Harvard professor Louis Agassiz by his father, himself a professor at Cornell. Though he studied architecture at Cornell, the words of his namesake “Study nature, not books” prevailed and Fuertes went on to become one of the preeminent American bird artists of all time. The artist was noted for his early talent and eye for detail, joining the American Ornithologists’ Union at the age of seventeen. Through this important group, he met ornithologist Elliott Coues, who promoted his work and commissioned the artist to illustrate his 1903 book, "Key to North American Birds." Along with Frank W. Benson, Fuertes provided illustrations for John C. Phillips’ "A Natural History of the Ducks," published from 1922-1926. He also painted his stunning bird portraits for Edward Howe Forbush’s "Birds of Massachusetts and Other New England States," published between 1925-1929. His works can be found in the collections of Cornell University and Chicago’s Field Museum, among others, and he has two species of birds named after him: Icterus fuertesi and Hapalopsittaca fuertesi.

Provenance: Eddie Woodin Collection

Literature: "Bird-Lore," Vol. XXI, No. 2, March-April 1919, frontispiece, illustrated.

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