Description
Hour of the Egret – 15-1/2 x 20-5/8; Offset Paper; Edition Size 1250; $150.00 U.S.
“After a long day, I generally take an evening walk. It was on one such stroll a few years
ago that I came across the old Venice [FL] train station, abandoned and derelict.
Its grandiose Romanesque arches are now defaced with graffiti and a superhighway roars
overhead, but I like to imagine it in its heyday in the 1920’s when trains were the only
sensible way to travel long distances. Egrets regularly feed in a canal that runs nearby,
and I recalled that these birds were once as endangered as the passenger train is today.
In the nineteenth century, they were brutally hunted for their plumes, which were much
coveted for fashionable ladies’ hats. Sometimes the hunters would rip the plumes out of
a living bird and leave it to a slow and agonizing death. In fact, the creation of the
Audubon Society was spurred by a group of blue-blooded Boston ladies who were
outraged by this barbaric practice. Thus the egret in my painting of the train station
faces north, toward Boston, the birthplace of one of the great forces for wildlife
conservation in North America.”
Robert Bateman
Biography
Robert Bateman has been called the most famous living artist. He continues to paint and tour the world to promote conservation and preservation of nature. We have represented Robert Bateman for decades and are now the sole publisher and distributor of his reproductions. We are so honored to work with him and witness his success. He has made such a massive contribution to the art world and the natural world as an artist and educator of the earth’s most important resources.
Nature as a subject is becoming more and more popular as our environment is in peril. What better subject is there than the beautiful creatures we share this world with? Robert Bateman’s appreciation and understanding of nature are apparent in his paintings. He is able to paint flora and fauna the way your eye would perceive it in real life. It is important that the animal takes full attention. The background becomes muted, and therefore it doesn’t take too much focus away from the subject. His paintings seem effortless and masterful all at once.
Bateman’s eye for composition is unparalleled. Each painting is a composed like a symphony, leading the eye to wander. From the backyards of North America to the sprawling plains of Africa. Robert Bateman captures nature the way it should be enjoyed. Above all he is a champion of wildlife. For this reason he has become a household name for art collectors.
