ALFRED BIRDSEY English-born / Bermudian, 1912 - 1996 Hillside Cottages Overlooking the Sound watercolor Impressionistic watercolor depicting a coastal or lakeside village scene. In the foreground, several simple white and terracotta-toned houses are nestled among dense foliage. Behind the buildings, tall cypress-like trees rise up, and beyond them a calm body of blue water stretches to a distant low green shoreline under a cloudy sky. Signed lower right. Framed. sight (as matted): 17 x 20.5 inches; frame: 24 x 27.5 inches $150-250
ARTIST PROFILE: Alfred Birdsey (1912-1996) was an English-born Bermudian painter, born in England in 1912 and relocated to Bermuda in 1919, and is considered one of the pioneers of modern art in Bermuda. Largely self-taught, he studied under local artist Donald Kirkpatrick and was influenced by Bauhaus artist Lionel Feininger as well as visiting American artist Joe Jones, developing a mature style that combined elements of abstraction with Asian aesthetics, especially in his watercolours, which were characterised by fluidity and simplicity. He is best known for his impressionistic watercolors of island landscapes, harbours, boats, backstreets, seascapes, homes, and bays across Hamilton, St. George's, and the surrounding waters of Bermuda, and also completed mural work in Boston, New York, and Bermuda. He was active as a professional artist for several decades and was among the few Bermudian artists able to earn a living solely from his work, and his paintings played a significant role in shaping Bermuda's international image, becoming regular additions to collections worldwide. Birdsey was the subject of a retrospective at the Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art in September 2022-April 2023.
