Artist: James Drummond Herbert (1896-1970). Title: Venus and her Doves. Watercolor on board. Signed with estate stamp lower right. Bert Gallery exhibition label verso. Dimensions: 14" x 11". Matted and framed: 20" x 16".Herbert brings his love of mythology to this richly conceived depiction of Venus, goddess of love and beauty, accompanied by her traditional attribute of doves. The oil medium gives the composition a greater sense of color and drama, enhancing the romantic and theatrical character that distinguishes Herbert’s mythological subjects.Herbert’s fascination with mythology and history was nurtured during his studies in France in the 1920s, where he developed an appreciation for European history painting and its use of allegory and metaphor. Throughout his career, he returned to an imaginative cast of gods and goddesses, historical figures, dancers, and theatrical characters.An appealing example of Herbert’s more imaginative work, Venus and Her Doves combines classical subject matter with the artist’s distinctive sense of fantasy and theatrical presentation. This is the companion work to lot 32.

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