NEW ZEALAND BIRDS

Evening Star, Issue 23496, 9 February 1940, Page 12

NEW ZEALAND BIRDS

..OUTSTANDING MUSEUM EXHIBIT vv, _____ WORK OF ARTIST-ILLUSTRATOR FOR PROTECTION SOCIETY There are few craftsmen who could coiumnc the work of tlie artist and tne illustrator with such spienuicl success as Has ooen. attameu oy Miss h. A. Daif. Uepxoauctions oi nor illustrations tor the albums issued by the Forest and isird frotectiou buciecy of i\ew Acuiaud are becoming wed known, and Have msx>ired an entiiusiastic reception wherever they have been seen. For tlio first time, however, the originals will bo on display this week in toe Utago Museum, and the full quality of the work can bo realised. Interviewed by a ‘ Star ’ reporter, Miss Duff gave some indication of the difficulties presented in doing this work. The paintings, of course, had to be photographically accurate, and faithfulness to detail the main feature of the finished work. But, particularly in the case of forest birds, painted against au authentic background, this meant that the bird lost its identity in the natural cover. Probably not even Miss Daff could explain how she manages to make the subject the centre of attraction, without sacrificing authenticity of background. In the case of some birds, the subject was painted from the model —sometimes two or more models—and the background worked in from photographs, or from the artist’s own studies of native plants. In the case of seabirds, backgrounds were painted from photographs. Even the tyro will understand that translating the monotones of the print into the living colours of ocean and cliffs presents difficulties. The artist would refuse to believe that these paintings were produced inside a studio. Birds present difficult subjects. No artist who valued breadth would make a study of some of the smaller bush birds, purely because these are selfeffacing in habit. Others have little artistic appeal, but all these studies are well worthy of a place in any gallery. The others are _ outstanding, notably ‘ Tho Mutton-bird,’ which combines breadth and attention to detail in a most unusual way, and, in many opinions it is the pick of the gallery. This is, however, an example of an irresistible subject caught at its best. The ‘ Big Crested Penguins ’ is another attractive subject, well handled. The ‘ Faintail ’ is another of the most satisfactory, notable for the treatment of the kawa-kawa foliage. And Miss Dalf has caught just those characteristics of the ‘ Stormy Petrels ’ which have endeared these “ Mother Carey’s Chickens ” to sailors ever since man took to water. Not to be passed over is the study of banded dotterels. There are 51 illustrations, all similar in size and execution. Twenty-four have been published in ‘ Forest Inhabiting Birds,’ and a similar number in ‘Sea and Shore Birds,’ both publications beings obtainable at tho Museum. The other three—the ‘ Shoveller,’ ‘ Bittern,’ and ‘ Takahe ’ —will form the nucleus of another collection illustrating birds of the open country and the swamp. Publication of this will not be undertaken until late in the year. , - This collection will be on view in the Museum for some time. Miss Daff is a member of the Museum staff, and visitors will recognise her work in the posters at the doorway. The Dunedin layman will be unfortunate who leaves the appreciation of this exhibit to the artist and the nature-lover.