The Purple Martin (Hirundo purpurea)
published 1731-1743
Medium
etching and engraving with hand coloring on laid paper
Dimensions
plate: 26.2 × 35 cm (10 5/16 × 13 3/4 in.) sheet: 34 × 44.7 cm (13 3/8 × 17 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. George Benjamin Green
Accession Number
1975.83.1
Rights
Public Domain
About the Artist
Mark Catesby · 1679–1749
Mark Catesby (1683–1749), an pioneering English naturalist and artist, was born on 24 March 1683 in Castle Hedingham, Essex, and baptized there a week later. His early life remains sparsely documented, with no records of formal education, artistic training, teachers, or mentors, though he was likely influenced by his uncle Nicholas Jekyll, a local naturalist with an intriguing garden and connectio...