WOLF, Joseph Art
German, 1820-1899
Joseph Wolf was the most prominent ornithological artist to contribute illustrations to John Gould’s bird books. While growing up on a farm in Germany, Wolf roamed the countryside and developed a strong interest in observing and sketching the wildlife. In 1836 his father reluctantly permitted him to become an apprentice at a lithographic firm in nearby Coblenz (Jackson 1975, 63).
After spending three years there improving his drawing skills and learning how to copy drawings onto the limestone blocks used for lithographic printing, Wolf returned to the family farm, but only for a year. Scientific contacts led him first to Darmstadt and then to Leiden in the Netherlands, where he progressed from illustrating ornithological books to become a painter of birds and animals. He improved his artistic skills still more by attending art school.
He developed the idea of depicting birds in motion, such as the dramatic scene of a Capercaillie escaping a fox that he drew for the publisher, Kern, in 1846 (Jackson 1975, 64). When revolution disrupted life on the European continent in 1848, Wolf took up the invitation of David William Mitchell, secretary of the Zoological Society of London, and assisted Mitchell in illustrating George Robert Gray’s book, Genera of Birds (1844-1849).
In 1849 Wolf also began to provide John Gould with illustrations for The Birds of Great Britain (1862-1873), his approach being especially suitable for birds of prey (Jackson 1975, 67). For example, he shows the Hooded Crow stealing an egg from a nest (Figs. 2 and 3). Rather than commit to working full-time for Gould, Wolf retained his independence as a free-lance artist.
Wolf’s biographer, Samuel Palmer, recounted that Gould enticed Wolf to visit and make charcoal drawings of birds for him by setting out Wolf’s favorite cigars and drawing materials. Whether that story is true or not, it is also recorded that Wolf objected to the overly bright tints chosen by Gould for coloring the lithographic prints (Jackson 1975, 67).
The drawings made by Wolf for The Birds of Asia (1850-1883) were his last for Gould Gould’s text about Bulwer’s Pheasant thanks the British Museum for loaning him the unique type specimen, “which has enabled me to prepare the accompanying Plate from the talented pencil of Mr. Wolf’ (Figs. 4 and 5).
Wolf’s drawings were rendered on stone by Henry Constantine Richter, another Gould artist who had earlier worked on illustrations for Gray’s Genera of Birds. It must have been an oversight that Wolf’who had drawn the Painted Spurfowl for Gould, was not credited on the published plate.
Source:
Website of University of Kansas Libraries: Gould History and Background(Biography provided by Reeves Art + Design)
to
2
2
4
3
1
4
Overall Height
to
Overall Width
to
4
4
2
2
4
6,996
3,377
2,513
1,212
4
2
2
2
1
Artist: Joseph Wolf
Phasianus colchicus
By Joseph Wolf
Located in Columbia, MO
Joseph Wolf
Lithograph
c.1940
Category
Mid-20th Century Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph
Phasianus torquatus
By Joseph Wolf
Located in Columbia, MO
Joseph Wolf
Lithograph
c.1940
Category
Mid-20th Century Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph
Two Guinea Fowl
By Joseph Wolf
Located in London, GB
WOLF, Joseph (artist).
Two Guinea Fowl
London For the author, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street 1871
Two original hand-coloured lithographic plates by Joseph Smit after Joseph Wolf. ...
Category
1870s WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Paper, Watercolor, Gouache, Lithograph
Four Pheasants
By Joseph Wolf
Located in London, GB
WOLF, Joseph (artist)
Four Pheasants
London, For the author, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, 1871
Four original hand-coloured lithographic plates by Joseph Smit after Joseph Wo...
Category
1870s Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Gouache, Lithograph, Watercolor
Related Items
Townsend's Cormorant /// John James Audubon Ornithology Bird Art Natural History
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851)
Title: "Townsend's Cormorant" (Plate 418, No. 84)
Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition
Year: 1840-1844
Medium:...
Category
1840s Victorian WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph, Watercolor
Brown Pelican /// Natural History Ornithology Bird Art John James Audubon Sea
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851)
Title: "Brown Pelican" (Plate 424, No. 85)
Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition
Ye...
Category
1840s Victorian WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Watercolor, Lithograph
Bonaparte’s Flycatching-Warbler (Great Magnolia) /// Ornithology Bird Audubon
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851)
Title: "Bonaparte’s Flycatching-Warbler (Great Magnolia)" (Plate 73, No. 15)
Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edit...
Category
1840s Victorian WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph, Watercolor
Original Audubon Hand Colored Lithograph of "The Sewellel"
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
An original John James Audubon hand colored lithograph entitled "The Sewellel", No. 25, Plate CXXIII, from John James Audubon's Quadrupeds of Nort...
Category
Mid-19th Century Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph
Snowy Heron /// John James Audubon Natural History Ornithology Snowy Egret Bird
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851)
Title: "Snowy Heron" (Plate 374, No. 75)
Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition
Year: 1840-1844
Medium: Original...
Category
1840s Victorian WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Watercolor, Lithograph
Original Audubon Hand Colored Lithograph of a "Canada Pouched Rat"
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
An original John James Audubon hand colored lithograph entitled "Canada Pouched Rat", No. 9, Plate XLIV from John James Audubon's Quadrupeds of North America, published in Philadelph...
Category
Mid-19th Century Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph
American Crow 1858 Chromolithograph by J.J. Audubon Plate, Julius Bien Edition
By John James Audubon
Located in Paonia, CO
American Crow by J.J. Audubon from his Birds of America folio shows an adult male crow in a Black Walnut bush with a nest of a Ruby-Throated Hummingbird in a branch below the crow. This original chromolithograph plate no. 226 is in good condition with a repairable water mark in the image on the left side as can be seen in the photos.
The ” Birds of America” by John James...
Category
1850s Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph
"Esquimaux Dog": An Original 19th C. Audubon Hand-colored Quadruped Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
This is an original John James Audubon hand-colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Esquimaux Dog", No. 23, Plate CXIII, from Audubon's "Quadrupeds of North America". It was drawn ...
Category
Mid-19th Century Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph
Roseate Spoonbill /// John James Audubon Natural History Ornithology Bird Art
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851)
Title: "Roseate Spoonbill" (Plate 362, No. 73)
Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition
Year: 1840-1844
Medium: Or...
Category
1840s Victorian WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Watercolor, Lithograph
Greenshank (St. Augustine, FL) /// Bird Ornithology John James Audubon Seascape
By John James Audubon
Located in Saint Augustine, FL
Artist: John James Audubon (American, 1785-1851)
Title: "Greenshank (St. Augustine, FL)" (Plate 346, No. 70)
Portfolio: The Birds of America, First Royal Octavo Edition
Year: 1840-1844
Medium: Original Hand-Colored Lithograph on wove paper
Limited edition: approx. 1,200
Printer: John T. Bowen, Philadelphia, PA
Publisher: John James Audubon and J.B. Chevalier, New York, NY and Philadelphia, PA
Framing: Recently beautifully framed in a walnut wood moulding with hand decorated archival French matting and blue marbling
Framed size: 13.63" x 15.75"
Sheet size: 6.5" x 10.25"
Image size: 4.38" x 7.75"
Condition: In excellent condition with strong colors
Rare
Notes:
Lithography and hand-coloring by American artist John T. Bowen (1801-c.1856). Comes from Audubon's famous seven volume portfolio "The Birds of America", First Royal Octavo Edition (1840-1844), which consists of 500 hand-colored lithographs. Comes with its original accompanying text pages on verso.
The composition was probably painted in England in 1835, using a preserved specimen. Since no other than Audubon has ever claimed to have seen this European species in America, it is considered possible that he confused it with the greater yellow-legs.
The common greenshank is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. The genus name Tringa is the New Latin name given to the green sandpiper by Aldrovandus in 1599 based on Ancient Greek trungas, a thrush-sized, white-rumped, tail-bobbing wading...
Category
1840s Victorian WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Watercolor, Lithograph
Tree with moth, caterpillar..., Plate 39, Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium
By Maria Sibylla Merian
Located in Middletown, NY
Metamorphosis Insectorum Surinamensium, Plate No. 39; Unidentified tree with moth, caterpillar and pupa.
The Netherlands: 1705....
Category
Early 18th Century Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Watercolor, Engraving
Trumpeter Swan: an Original 1st Edition Hand Colored Audubon Bird Lithograph
By John James Audubon
Located in Alamo, CA
An original rare and extremely collectible first edition John James Audubon hand colored royal octavo lithograph entitled "Trumpeter Swan, Young", No. 7...
Category
Mid-19th Century Naturalistic WOLF, Joseph Art
Materials
Lithograph
Joseph Wolf art for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a wide variety of authentic Joseph Wolf art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Joseph Wolf in gouache, lithograph, paint and more. Not every interior allows for large Joseph Wolf art, so small editions measuring 24 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Ohara Koson, Harry Rogers, and Johan Christoph Volkhamer. Joseph Wolf art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $7,008 and tops out at $15,927, while the average work can sell for $15,927.