McGill Library
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H3A 0C9
Red-footed Booby
Sula sula
Pet. Paillou Fect. May the 12 1744
Item
1 watercolour painting ; 56 x 39 cm + 1 leaf
Peter Paillou was born in London into a Huguenot family and was recognised in his own time as an eminent ‘bird painter’. In 1744 he began to paint for Taylor White and worked for him for almost thirty years, painting chiefly birds and mammals. He painted as well for Robert More, Joseph Banks, and for the Welsh naturalist Thomas Pennant. Many of his paintings of birds were used as the basis for book illustrations, often engraved by his colleague and fellow Huguenot, Peter Mazell. Paillou was elected to the Society of Artists and in 1763 he exhibited ‘A Piece of Birds, in Watercolours; the Hen of the Wood and Cock of the Red Game’. In 1778, to considerable approval, he also showed a picture of ‘A Horned Owl from Peru’, completely made from feathers.
Drawing of a Red-footed Booby from a 18th century specimen [modern geographical distribution: the Caribbean, Central America, Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, and Australia].
Manuscript note on front of drawing: Pet. Paillou Fect. May the 12 1744
Scientific name: Sula sula
With manuscript text on accompanying leaf.
Transcription of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Aves Anseres Pelecanus
Fiber.
Translation of manuscript note on accompanying leaf: Aves Anseres Pelecanus
Fiber.