Walton Ford

Nicole Klagsbrun Gallery, New York
Private Collection, Hong Kong
Acquired by the present owner from the above

This work is in very good condition overall. The work consists of three panels each in artist's frames. Left: There is some light surface soiling. There is subtle evidence of the seam of the two panels where they join horizontally along the center. There is a fine 2-inch scratch in the lower right near the edge. There is some light wear to the frame at the edges and corners with some scattered scuffs. Center: There is some light surface soiling and some very faint, scattered accretions. There is subtle evidence of the seam of the two panels where they join horizontally along the center, particularly at the right near the edge where there is a very fine visible split. There is a scratch at the lower center of the panel near the bottom. There is some wear to the frame at the edges, particularly along the left side, and corners with some scattered scuffs. Right: There is some light surface soiling. There is subtle evidence of the seam of the two panels where they join horizontally along the center. There are some very faint, scattered accretions throughout. There are a few very fine, small scratches in the lower 1/4 of the composition. There is some wear to the frame at the edges and corners with some scattered scuffs, mostly at the left and right sides.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

On September 1, 1914 the last known living passenger pigeon died in the Cincinnati Zoo. She was named Martha, after Martha Washington. Nineteenth century naturalist and ornithologist John James Audubon describes these magnificent flocks of passenger pigeons in his color-plate book, The Birds of America. He states, “In passing over the Barrens a few miles beyond Hardensburgh, I observed the pigeons flying from north-east to south-west, in greater numbers than I thought I had ever seen them before… The air was literally filled with pigeons; the light of noon-day was obscured as by an eclipse, the dung fell in spots, not unlike melting flakes of snow; and the continued buzz of wings had a tendency to lull my senses to repose.”

Men hunted the birds with vigor, excited by the seemingly endless bounty. Audubon describes one scene: “The pigeons were still passing in undiminished numbers, and continued to do so for three days in succession. The people were all in arms. The banks of the Ohio were crowded with men and boys, incessantly shooting at the pigeons, which there flew lower as they passed the river. Multitudes were thus destroyed. For a week or more the population fed on no other flesh than that of pigeons, and talked nothing of pigeons.” Nearly 100 years later, there would be no passenger pigeons left in North America.

Ford is known for his Pancha Tantra animal paintings, inspired by Audubon’s own field paintings and plates. In Ford’s watercolors, animals take on anthropomorphic tendencies, reminding us not just of the beauty and savagery of nature, but of ourselves. In a style reminiscent of Brueghel’s scenes of peasant life, Ford paints the murderous pigeon hunt scene described in Audubon’s writings. On the far right, the pigeons fall prey in bright gunfire. A fallen horse, Ford’s gesture to George Stubbs, graces the warlike scene of scarlet and smoke. As the eye follows the thinning flock to the left, a painter captures two passenger pigeons on a canvas. The miniature painting is copied after Audubon’s passenger pigeon plate, with the artist representing Audubon himself.

This stunning painting conveys a legendary narrative and chillingly captures modern man’s “dreadful havoc” and eventual destruction of a species. More haunting perhaps is the figure of Audubon himself, who has easily tossed aside two of the birds he was trying to immortalize in his painting. The land of plenty was an illusion. Ford lures modern man with beautiful art and then reminds him to face his past. Indeed, all that is left of this previously abundant resource is behind glass in a display case at the Smithsonian Institute, with the nametag, MARTHA.