Live Auction 7728Victorian and British Impressionist Pictures including Drawings and Watercolours
Christie’s roundel
Lot 104

Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935)

A polecat, a rabbit and a stoat

Closed4 June 2009

Price Realised

GBP 13,125

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Archibald Thorburn (1860-1935)
A polecat, a rabbit and a stoat
signed and dated 'Archibald Thorburn - 1912' (lower left, partially overmounted)
pencil and watercolour with touches of bodycolour and with gum arabic
14 x 18 1/8 in. (35 x 46 cm.)

The Collection of the late Alfred Shuttleworth; Christie's, London, 5 February 1926, lot 79.

Specialist note

The present watercolour illustrates the way in which Thorburn utilised his skills in depicting animals, something that he developed most successfully in Thorburn's Mammals. He has chosen to combine the forms of the polecat, rabbit and stoat into a narrative in which the stoat nervously catches the eye of the agressive polecat who possessively stands over his kill.