A brush with birds – National Library of Australia Koopje

Drawn from the National Library of Australia’s collection, A Brush with Birds showcases bird art from 1788 to the present day. In her introduction, Penny Olsen reveals how Australian bird art has evolved from descriptive and scientific illustrations to more artistic portraits of birds in their natural habitats going about their daily lives. This book begins with First Fleet artists John Hunter and George Raper, who documented the strange new birds they encountered: the lyrebird named after its lyre-shaped t…