278 - Archibald Thorburn, ARA,

Archibald Thorburn, ARA, Scottish 1860-1935- A seagull on the sand; watercolour on paper, 12.5 x 14 cm. Provenance: From an album of the artist's sketches. Private Collection, UK. Note: Thorburn was a prominent and prolific illustrator of avian subjects, and collaborated with contemporaries George Edward Lodge (1860-1954) and John Guille Millais (1865-1931) on publications including the 'Natural History of British Feeding Ducks', 'British Diving Ducks' and 'British Game Birds'. He was an associate of the Royal Academy and a member of the Zoological Society of London. This dynamic depiction of a bird with its wings spread is typical of Thorburn's lively compositions, and recalls, for example, watercolours by the artist which sold at Olympia, London, on 10 December 2025, lot 71, (£7,000 hammer), at Bonhams, London, 17 September 2025, lot 80 (£4,400 hammer), and at Christie's, London, 2 July 2025, lot 246 (£1,400 hammer).