HART, William Matthew (British, 1830-1908).
Quezal or Pharomacrus mocinno.
Original watercolor heighened with gum arabic on paper.
Inscribed in pencil upper left by Gould "Plant Barkeria Elegans", and possibly "William Matthew Hart"
From "A Monograph of the Trogonidae, of Family of Trogons", Plate One.
c. 1870-1875.
22 1/2" x 15" sheet, 24" x 31" framed.

This is the Legendary Bird of Central America - Considered Divine by both the Ancient Aztec & Mayan cultures.

The resplendent quetzal is of great importance to Guatemalan culture, being a character in various legends and myths. It was considered divine and associated with Quetzalcoatl, a feathered serpent and god of life, light, knowledge and the winds, by pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations. Its iridescent green tail feathers, symbols for spring plant growth, were venerated by the ancient Aztecs and Maya. The Maya also viewed the quetzal as symbolizing freedom and wealth due to their view of quetzals dying in captivity and the value of their feathers along with jade, respectively. In ancient Mayan culture, the quetzal feathers were considered so precious that they were even used as a medium of exchange. Thus the name of the Guatemala currency, the quetzal. In several Mesoamerican languages, the term for quetzal can also mean precious, sacred, or king, warrior, prince

Hart is roundly regarded as Gould's most devoted protégé and his most accomplished artist, drawing upon Gould's incomparable legacy of research and craftsmanship to create a splendid tribute to Gould and his favorite birds.

The talented natural history painter William Matthew Hart was the artistic genius behind some of the lavish illustrations for John Gould's splendid work The Birds of Great Britain and A Monograph of the Trochilidae or family of Hummingbirds.

He began working for Gould in 1851, beginning an association that was to last thirty years. Early during this period, he made the patterns for the lithographic plates for Gould's work on hummingbirds and working on The Birds of Great Britain with Henry Constantine Richter. By 1870 Hart had become Gould's chief artist and lithographer. After Gould died in 1881, Hart was employed by Richard Bowdler-Sharpe of the British Museum to complete Gould's work on The Birds of New Guinea and to produce illustrations for Sharpe's Monograph on the Birds-of-Paradise.