A Very Rare Pair of Miniatures, His Majesty and A Tigress
His Majesty (miniature), etching on vellum, 1889, signed by the artist, part of a limited edition set of three
A Tigress (miniature), etching on vellum, 1889, signed by the artist, part of a limited edition set of three
 
Details of the series:
Measurements: 37.5 cm x 40.5 cm
Medium: Etching on vellum
Date: 1889
One of the greatest wildlife artists of his generation, the British arist Herbert Dicksee (1862-1942) became an expert in the observation of the character and behaviour of his animal subjects. In particular of the power and majesty of lions, tigers and other big cats. He was one of the first generations to create such images in such a realistic and awe-inspiring style, working in an era well before the invention of the camera zoom lens.
Dicksee attended the Slade School of Fine Art, London, still a young school at the time having only been opened in 1871, where he studied under Alphonse Legros, another distinguished etcher. He obtained several Salon medals over his long career.
Engraver's proofs of his finest work have been in the archives of the British Museum since 1934.
After passing away in 1942 in Hampstead he left his daughter clear instructions to destroy the majority of his plates used for etching, making the works that survive all the more highly sort after as many can no longer be reproduced.