Thomas Lewin's Eastern Meadowlark Watercolor

Eastern Meadowlark 'Sturnella magna'. Thomas Lewin (1774- after 1840). Watercolor and gouache on paper. Signed lower right. ca. 1825-31. Paper size: 10 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches. Frame size: 21 x 24 inches.
The Lewins as a family are remarkable for the emphasis they placed on original drawings, and their interest in ornithological illustration. William Lewin and his sons, Thomas and John William, had access to the major natural history cabinets and collections of the time, including those of Sir Ashton Lever (and later when owned by James Parkinson), Marmaduke Tunstall, and Dr. John Latham, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Portland. Thomas Lewin published his own Album of Original Bird Drawings, all of original watercolors, from 1825-1831. John William Lewin, in collaboration with well known natural history artist John Gould, published A Natural History of the Birds of New South Wales in 1838.