Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly (1896-1971)
R. B. Talbot Kelly (TK) is arguably one of the last centuries greatest and most sympathetic painters of birds - his paintings, masterpieces of delicacy and sensitive perception.
TK had a life long fascination with birds, and worked in a variety of media over a period of more than fifty years, watercolour, gauche, pencil, pen and ink, etchings and folded paper dimensional animals.
He was the master of what he called ‘realistic impressionism ’ where plumage detail is suggested but not painted in a meticulous manner. The setting of each bird is an impression - a memory captured - from life with an artist’s eye for composition.
Familiarity with his subjects, which included both insight and understanding, was the key to Talbot Kelly’s work. His ability to exclude what he knew to be the facts and concentrate on what he had seen puts his work into the highest category of bird painting.
Richard was the only son of the artist Robert Talbot Kelly and his wife, Lilias Fisher Kelly. He was born on 20 August 1896, in Birkenhead, Cheshire, and lived in Rochdale, Lancashire. He developed an early love of natural history while holidaying with his mother’s family in Scotland. And would later become an artist in his own right, particularly known for his paintings of birds.
He was educated at The Hall School in Hampstead later attending boarding school in Rottingdean, before finishing his education at Rugby School in Warwickshire, where he later became Director of Art in 1929.
TK saw service in both wars, and was made a member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his service. At the same time, he began to exhibit his paintings of birds, becoming a recognised artistic talent in 1923, and being elected to the Royal Institute of Watercolour painters in 1925. During the 1930s Richard worked steadily on his artistic career.
He exhibited at the Royal Academy, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours and the Paris Salon.
He painted posters for British Rail, London Underground, and London Transport. He was engaged as the design consultant for the Pavilion of Natural Science at the 1951 Festival of Britain. He was a founder-member, in 1964, of the Society of Wildlife Artists.
He also wrote and illustrated a number of books on British Birds
Richard continued to teach at Rugby until 1966, although during this time he also tried his hand at being a museum professional. He curated the Natural History room in Warwick Museum and the Natural History Gallery at the National History Museum of Uganda.
On his retirement from teaching, TK moved to Leicester and continued his heritage career, assisting the local museum with their Natural History collections. He died in June 1971
The painting you selected for this post is brilliant!
It is an awesome painting isn’t it – Goldeneye taking off over a rough sea. I detect some Chinese influence in the painting of the background. He was a brilliant artist often underrated. However there has been a resurgence of interest in his paintings of birds in the last few years. Glad you liked it.
The painting is wonderful! With such a limited palette he has produced a picture of great energy.
Absolutely Clare. He worked much as the Chinese painters did with a limited palette, speed and economy of line and stroke. Working from memory he stripped out non essential detail and painted an impression of bird and background as one. In doing so he created a mood for the painting much as a Japanese poet does when crafting the poetic form of haiku (perhaps as I am learning to write haiku that is why I am drawn to his paintings so much). He was especially drawn to the sea and many of his ‘best’ paintings are of seabirds.
A fascinating history Clive. The painting is lovely, the birds have such character!
He had a particular feeling for the sea and the winds of wild and lonely islands. The birds that live in such places – sea-ducks, waders and sea-shore birds – were the ones that excited and enchanted him most.
Hi Clive!
I live a few hundred yards down the road from the ‘lighthouse’ where Peter Scott lived & worked till around 1945 I think it was when land was reclaimed and the sea stopped lapping round its base. We were good friends of the previous owner who did a lot of renovations to the place; we’ve stood in Peter Scott’s studio which looks out over the Wash. The extensive land round the ‘lighthouse’ (it looks like one but was never used as one – it was just built by the people who straightened out the Nene to use up the spare cash they’d made instead of sharing it out to the navvies) was home to many seabirds, regulars and migrators. Less so now since the place was taken over by a chap who wanted to commercialise the place but can’t afford to proceed. All this came into my mind when I saw RBT Kelly’s painting above.
We have climbed to the top of the ‘lighthouse’ – stunning views.
Somewhere in the house we’ve an original print of a Peter Scott painting. We’ve so much ‘stuff’ in the house!
Colin
Colin, that’s awesome. I worked for Peter Scott for a while at Slimbridge, which he created after he left the East Lighthouse.
It’s a shame about what’s happened to it. I believe the West Lighthouse is still there too.
Like TK he painted fast and from memory. He always had in mind what had stirred him when he had been out in the marshes.
One of my passions is collecting and restoring old prints/paintings of birds. I too have one of Peter Scott’s – ‘Pintail over the Marsh’ – a fine art print from 1950 published by Ackermann’s Galleries.
Lovely!
Thank you!
Here is a link to a great review of his book – ‘The Way of Birds’ printed by Collins in 1937 …
https://wildlifeandwords.wordpress.com/2015/05/18/the-way-of-birds-book-review/
The book is notable as it contains over 70 of his bird illustrations in black and white and colour.