James Fenwick Lansdowne OC, OBC, LL.D, RCA (1937 - 2008)

An important Canadian painter, illustrator, printmaker and author, James Fenwick Lansdowne was born in Hong Kong, China and died in Victoria, Canada, where he had lived since 1940. His bird paintings and prints have been the subject of exhibitions at numerous important venues such as the Beijing Museum of Natural History, China; the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; the National Audubon Society, New York City; the National Geographic Society, New York City; the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto; and the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C. He was a member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts*, a Member of the Order of British Columbia, and an Officer of the Order of Canada*. (1)(2)

Lansdowne's mediums were gouache*, watercolor, pencil, ink, collotype* print, lithography, and illustrated books. His only subject was detailed studies of birds. His style was referred to as Realism* or High Realism*. AskART has some excellent illustrations of his work. (3)

Quote: "I've never worked with anything but gouache and watercolor. I find it suitable for me, for the type of work I do." - James Fenwick Lansdowne (4)

He began drawing birds when he was 13. He is self taught. His only related education was working as a lab assistant, for three summers in the early 1950s, at the British Columbia Provincial Museum, Victoria, where he had the opportunity to study the ornithological collections and bird anatomy (dissecting), and to go on field trips bird watching with his supervisors.

Quote: "I had no [art] training whatever at any time." - James Fenwick Lansdowne (5)

Quote: "I was about 13 when I really got going on painting birds. In retrospect, I'm sorry now that I never took any art training. We used to be told that, 'Oh, it will affect your style,' or 'It will damage your natural ability.' I think that's hogwash. I no longer believe that good training at drawing or working with colors would ever hurt anybody. You would apply it to what you are doing and be a lot better off in the long run." - James Fenwick Lansdowne (6)

Lansdowne's works were shown at the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto (1959); the Society of Wildlife Artists of Australasia exhibition, Melbourne, Australia (1979); and at the Centennial Exhibition of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (1980). They were also featured in the "First American Natural History Art Show", Bell Museum of Natural History, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis (1971); "Animals in Art", Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (1975); "Birds in Art", Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, Wisconsin (annual exhibitions from 1975 to 1987); and in "The Art of Survival" at the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (1987 - 1988).

His first solo show was held at the B.C. Provincial Museum, Victoria in 1952. Since then the venues for his exhibitions have included the Royal Ontario Museum, Toronto (1956); Audubon House, New York City (1958); Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, B.C (1960 and 1998); Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, Quebec (1964); Laboratory of Ornithology, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York (1968); McMichael Canadian Art Collection, Kleinburg, Ontario (1968, 1970 and 1977); Museum London, Ontario (1969); Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. (1969); Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario (1976); Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago (1978); Vancouver Art Gallery, Vancouver, B.C. (1981); Royal Scottish Academy, Edinburgh (1981); Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh (1981); National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C. (1983); Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum, Honolulu (1986); Beijing Museum of Natural History, China (1986); Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, Texas (1989); Cultural Palace of Nationalities, Beijing (1992); The New York Historical Society, New York City (1995); and the Wildlife Conservation Society, New York City (1996).

His works have also been exhibited in prominent commercial galleries such as The Tyron Gallery, London, England; Kennedy Galleries, New York City; Gallery 93, Ottawa; Leafhill Galleries, Victoria; and Peter Wenning Gallery, Johannesburg, South Africa.

According to the Canadian Heritage Information Network* and individual museum websites, his works are in the permanent collections of the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria (B.C.), Beaverbrook Art Gallery (Fredericton, New Brunswick), Maltwood Museum (University of Victoria, B.C.), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Quebec), Museum London (Ontario), Robert McLaughlin Gallery (Oshawa, Ontario), and Simon Fraser University Gallery (Burnaby, B.C.).

Lansdowne authored Birds of the West Coast: Volume 1 (1976) and Birds of the West Coast: Volume 2 (1980); he co- authored (with John A. Livingston) Birds of the Northern Forest (1966), Birds of the Eastern Forest: 1 (1968), and Birds of the Eastern Forest: 2 (1970); and he illustrated Rails of the World: A Monograph of the Family Rallidae (1977) and A Guide to the Behavior of Common Birds (1979).

His awards and honors include investiture as an Officer of the Order of Canada* (1977); an honorary doctorate (LL.D) from the University of Victoria, B.C. (1980); the Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum designation as Master Wildlife Artist (1985); the Order of British Columbia (1995); and the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002). Prince Philip the Duke of Edinburgh wrote the foreword to Lansdowne's Birds of the West Coast: Volume Two (1980).

Lansdowne's works have been presented by Canadian officials as gifts to HRH Princess Margaret (1962); HRH Prince Phillip (1967 and 1980); the USA Vice Presidential residence (1977); HM Queen Elizabeth (1977); and to HRH Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (1981).

Footnotes:
(1) Please note: An attack of polio at the age of 10 months left his right arm useless and legs paralyzed. At seven, after a series of operations, Lansdowne improved enough to use crutches in addition to a wheelchair. Source: Artists in their Studios: Where Art is Born (2007), by Robert Amos (see AskART book references).

(2) In 1940, due to the impending Japanese invasion, Lansdowne and his mother were evacuated from Northern China to Victoria, Canada. Lansdowne's father (Ernest d.1964) took a post in Shanghai and was subsequently taken prisoner for the duration of the war. After the war, the family reunited in Hong Kong and lived there for 18 months (c. 1946 - 1948) before returning to Victoria. Source: A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume Three, Jacobi - Lismer (1975), by Colin S. MacDonald (see AskART book references).

(3) Lansdowne's painting process is complex: it involves personal field observation of the live bird, close-up examination of stuffed museum specimens, and to a lesser extent the study of photographs; for example, Rare Birds of China was commissioned in 1984 as a record of China's rare and endangered birds, it required almost ten years to complete. The thirty-two birds in the series were selected with the help of leading Chinese ornithologists. Lansdowne traveled extensively in China, visiting museums and observing birds in zoos and in their natural habitats. Museums in China, England and North America provided advice and assistance with the loan of bird skins for the artist's reference. In addition, British mountaineer Sir Christian John Storey Bonington took detailed photographs of the habitats of Himalayan species for the artist's use. Source: The Rare Birds of China (website).

(4) Quote source: "Meeting a Legend", by Robert H. Jones, Wildlife Art News, July 1987.

(5) Quote source: Artists in their Studios: Where Art is Born (2007), by Robert Amos (see AskART book references).

(6) Quote source: Meeting a Legend by Robert H. Jones, Wildlife Art News, July of 1987.

Sources:
Canadian Who's Who - 2008 (2008), edited by Elizabeth Lumley (see AskART book references)

Artists in their Studios: Where Art is Born (2007), by Robert Amos (see AskART book references)

Biographical Index of Artists in Canada (2003), by Evelyn de Rostaing McMann (see AskART book references)

Who's Who in American Art, 2001 - 2002 24th edition (2001), edited by Donald Bunton (see AskART book references)

The Collector's Dictionary of Canadian Artists at Auction (2001), by Anthony R. Westbridge and Diana L. Bodnar (see AskART book references)

The Encyclopedia of British Columbia (2000), edited by Daniel Francis (see AskART book references)

A to Z of Canadian Art: artists & art terms (1997), by Blake McKendry (see AskART book references)

Art and Architecture in Canada (1991), by Loren R. Lerner and Mary F. Williamson (see AskART book references)

Canadian Who's Who: Index 1898 - 1984 (1988), by Evelyn de R. McMann (see AskART book references)

From the Wild: Portfolios of North America's Finest Wildlife Artists (1987), Editor-in-chief Christopher Hume (see AskART book references)

The Art of Survival: Canadian Artists in Aid of Endangered Wildlife (1987), by Yorke Edwards (see AskART book references)

Who's Who in American Art 15th Edition (1982), by Jaques Cattell Press (see AskART book references)

J. Fenwick Lansdowne (1981), by Jo-Anne Birnie Danzker (see AskART book references)

Passionate Spirits: A History of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, 1880 - 1980" (1980), by Rebecca Sisler (see AskART book references)

A Dictionary of Canadian Artists, Volume Three, Jacobi - Lismer (1975), by Colin S. MacDonald (see AskART book references)

Birds of the Northern Forest (1966), by J.F. Lansdowne and John A. Livingston (see AskART book references)

"Noted City Painter Dies Unexpectedly", by Tom McMillan, Times Colonist, Monday, July 28, 2008

"Meeting a Legend", by Robert H. Jones, Wildlife Art News, July 1987

Canadian Heritage Information Network*

Governor General of Canada - Order of Canada and Golden Jubilee Medal source

Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia - Order of British Columbia source

Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum

The Rare Birds of China (website)

* For more in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com. Glossary http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx.

Written and contributed to askART by M.D. Silverbrooke.