The Yellow Bird of China

Dateca. 1825 (probably)

Artist/Maker Anne C. Randall (1807-1892)

MediumWatercolor and ink on laid paper

DimensionsPrimary support: 5 13/16 x 7 9/16in. (14.8 x 19.2cm) and Framed: 7 7/16 x 9 x 1/2in.

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore T. Gore

Object number1984.303.1

DescriptionWatercolor of a blue bird with yellow tail and wings, perched on a stump rooted in a mound.
This piece was received in 1984 in a modern, 3/8-inch, half-round gilded frame; in 1985, this frame was replaced by a period replacement one found in AARFAM's storage: a 5/8-inch, flat, mahogany-veneered frame.
Label TextAnne Randall's brightly colored bird attests to a prevailing interest in the exotic. Her setting is a much simplified version of the formula often used as a backdrop by an unidentified Pennsylvania artist in a series of bird portraits [note 1]. Perhaps inspired by similar sources, both posed their specimens on stumps or small trees rooted in uneven, choppy terrain sprinkled with low bushy shrubs and sprigs of grass.
Randall was born in Easton, Massachusetts, and married Joseph C. Laughton of Brookline, Massachusetts, on August 29, 1834, but where the couple lived during their married life is uncertain.
InscribedIn ink in the lower margin is, "The Yellow bird of China Anne Randall".
ProvenanceOwnership prior to Mr. and Mrs. Theodore T. Gore is unknown.