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(above) 'Birds' exhibition, showing Don Cordery's lithographs, at Tate Britain, 2026
It's the end of May and our exhibition 'Birds in Art', which particularly showcases the lithographs Don Cordery produced for Christie's Contemporary Art in the 1970s, opens on Sunday 7 June 2026.​
The 1970s! In fact it was in 1973 that Don Cordery was invited by the newly-established Christie's Contemporary Art to produce a series of lithographs of birds of prey. These were to be made and printed at The Curwen Press and released for sale by Christie's in limited editions of 150 or 200.
The lithographs were sell-outs. And following the formation of an archive of contemporary prints by The Tate Gallery in 1977, The Curwen Press donated one of each of Don's lithographs to the archive.
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Moving forward to the early 1980s, Don encountered Nicholas Dawe, the founder of the artists' agency, Folio. Through Folio (folioart.co.uk), Don was commissioned, in 1989, to produce the designs for the postage stamps commemorating the centenary of The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). This edition was, at the time, the eighth most popular in the history of the Royal Mail.
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In 1995, Folio enabled Don's finely-wrought watercolour paintings of golden eagles and their habitat to be seen around London, made huge to fill massive hoardings. Eagle Star, the insurance giant, were pushing their home insurance policies and were entranced by Don's ability to render the fierceness and subtlety of talon, beak and feather in the delicate and soft stippling technique he'd become known for.
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But back to Tate Britain! In 2024, Tim Batchelor, an Assistant Curator there, wrote a lavishly illustrated book entitled 'Birds in Art'. (it can be purchased at the Tate Britain shop). It's based on The Tate's extensive collection of bird paintings and prints.
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Later on, Tate Britain opened a show of selected works from the book. It's called 'Birds', and two of Don's lithographs, 'Spectacled Owl' and 'Goshawk', are there, shining and vivid. You can see them at the top of this page. They hang opposite works by, among others, Elisabeth Frink, Ceri Richards and Cedric Morris. (www.tate.org.uk)
The show at Tate Britain closes on 14 June 2026. With our exhibition here at Gallery 9 we are going to walk alongside them with a show, not only of 'Spectacled Owl' and 'Goshawk', but others in the series of limited edition lithographs Don created at that time. Various aspects of the lithographic process will be shown.
We will have studies from Don's time in bird illustration, with particular focus on the 1989 RSPB centenary stamps and the Eagle Star project. Selected work from the time will be available for sale.
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We hope to see you then!
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