signed and dated l.l.: Archibald Thorburn/ 1921.
watercolour heightened with bodycolour
53 by 74cm.; 21 by 29in.
ESTIMATE 50,000 - 70,000 GBP
'Through the powdering of snow scattered over the ridge by the icy winds, a covey of ptarmigan drops into the haven of the sheltered corrie, to rejoin companions who are already relishing the warmth of the evening glow.
Although the sunset foretells of no further snow, the birds' slumbers in the bitterness of this inhospitable place will be far from pleasurable; so they prepare and preen packing together for comfort, seeking out a hollow here and a
shelter there amongst any scant vegetation still uncluttered by the snow.' (John Southern, Thorburn's Landscape, The Major Natural History Paintings, 1981, p.96)
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