The Purple Martin (Hirundo purpurea)

published 1731-1743

Mark Catesby

Associated Names
Mark Catesby

Artist, English, 1679 - 1749

A dark blue bird with a long tail sits on a wooden post adorned with green vines and clusters of small red berries. The post and roof have natural wood and straw tones, while the leaves are green and the berries are red.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Collection of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green

  • Dimensions

    plate: 27.6 x 35.4 cm (10 7/8 x 13 15/16 in.)
    sheet: 35.6 x 51.3 cm (14 x 20 3/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1991.163.17

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Natural History, Vol. vol.1, no. 51

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green, Virginia; gift to NGA, 1991.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1771

  • Catesby, Mark. The Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands. London: 1771.

Inscriptions

lower center in plate: MC: lower left in plate: Smilax &c.; lower right in plate: Hirundo Purpurea. / The Purple Martin; upper right in plate: T. 51

Wikidata ID

Q74894675

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