A Fussell signature in Yarrell History of British Birds 1843

Snowy Owl from Yarrell History of British Birds 1843

Sclavack Peasants from John Paget Hungary and Transylvania 1839

Alexander Fussell or Fussel (b. circa 1814, Warwickshire; d. 1881) was an English artist and illustrator. He drew the bird illustrations for

William Yarrell William Yarrell (3 June 1784 – 1 September 1856) was an English zoologist, prolific writer, bookseller and naturalist admired by his contemporaries for his precise scientific work. Yarrell is best known as the author of ''The History of Br ...

's 1843 ''

History of British Birds ''A History of British Birds'' is a natural history book by Thomas Bewick, published in two volumes. Volume 1, ''Land Birds'', appeared in 1797. Volume 2, ''Water Birds'', appeared in 1804. A supplement was published in 1821. The text in ''Lan ...

''.

Life and career

Fussell painted in various media, including watercolour, gouache, and oil on canvas. His subjects included ''The prize calf'', ''The park sweeper'', ''Uncle Toby and the Widow Wadman'', and ''The letter, after Thomas Faed''. Fussell undertook the large task of illustrating

's 1843 ''

''. Yarrell states that Fussell drew "nearly five hundred" of the 520 wood-engravings mentioned on the book's title-page. The work began in 1837 and continued for six years, Yarrell publishing at the rate of one instalment, containing three sheets, every two months. Many of the drawings were from skins or stuffed specimens, though every bird species is illustrated with a lifelike drawing of the bird standing (or rarely, flying or swimming) in a natural setting. Additional drawings depict nests, feathers, and details of bird anatomy including feet, breastbones, and windpipes. The work was hugely influential. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' of 1888, Fussell contributed to the illustration of another famous book,

Isaac Walton Izaak Walton (baptised 21 September 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of '' The Compleat Angler'', he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friend John Donne. They have been col ...

's ''

Compleat Angler ''The Compleat Angler'' (the spelling is sometimes modernised to ''The Complete Angler'', though this spelling also occurs in first editions) is a book by Izaak Walton. It was first published in 1653 by Richard Marriot in London. Walton continu ...

'', the fourth edition published by John Major in London in 1844. Paintings of fish by

Abraham Cooper Abraham Cooper (1787–1868) was a British animal and battle painter. Life The son of a tobacconist, he was born in Greenwich, London on the 8th September 1787.Mr. Hering's sketches to the wood" for John Paget's 1839 ''Hungary and Transylvania'', a book with "numerous illustrations" (47 are listed) of buildings, landscapes, curiosities and peasants.

Works

* Yarrell, William. ''History of British Birds'' (nearly 500 drawings), 1843. * ''Uncle Toby and the widow Wadman'', 1857.Artnet: Alexander Fussell
/ref> (illustrating a scene from

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published ...

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Tristram Shandy Tristram may refer to: Literature * the title character of ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'', a novel by Laurence Sterne * the title character of ''Tristram of Lyonesse'', an epic poem by Algernon Charles Swinburne *"Tristra ...

'') * Paget, John. ''Hungary and Transylvania; with remarks on their condition, social, political, and economical''. John Murray, 1839.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fussell, Alexander 1814 births 1881 deaths Painters from London English illustrators 19th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English male artists