Cuckoo

If Allen Seaby’s cuckoo has a slight feel of a scientific specimen, that’s because it was modeled after a painting he did for The British Bird Book (1910–13), a survey of bird behavior. He depicted his subject making its “cuckoo” sound, which, as the text explains, is “uttered with the bill closed, or almost so.” This rare proof of Cuckoo shows Seaby trying out a caramel-colored background. He ultimately decided on blue-green, but with an added swipe of dark, wet color behind the bird’s breast to set it off. (Mia 2018.43.16)