Louis Agassiz Fuertes (1874-1927)
Ruffed Grouse in a Pine
signed "Louis Agassiz Fuertes" lower right

watercolor and gouache, 25 1/4 by 19 1/4 in.

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. This highly accomplished work is one of the artist's grandest watercolors to ever come to market.

Provenance: Private Collection, New York

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