Abstract
When I returned to my home in the Los Angeles area with smog, congestion and concrete from a visit to the Atherton Tableland of northern Queensland, Australia, I felt a richer man. This was partially, of course, the result of the exhileration experienced from being in close proximity with the magnificent rainforest birds, mammals, insects and plants with their myriad of shapes, sizes, colors, displays, scents, defenses (yes, defenses - the stiletto-like inner claw of the spectacular cassowary, the venom spurs of the male platypus, the razor sharp claws and big teeth of the "loveable, cuddly" Koala, the toxins of some Lepidoptera and caterpillars, the spines and toxins of many plants, their fruits and seeds), etc. But especially enriching was my opportunity to spend some, but much too little, time at the home of a very special couple, Mr. and Mrs. William T. Cooper.Bill Cooper, as no ornithologist or aviculturist needs be told, is one of Australia's finest painters or illustrators of birds and no doubt the world's foremost painter of parrots and hornbills. Bill's earlier paintings were principally traditional land and seascapes. He then, in collaboration with the late Keith Hindwood, illustrated A Portfolio of Australian Birds (Charles E. Tuttle Company - 1968). After that, Bill teamed with the noted Australian ornithologist Joseph M. Forshaw, to illustrate Parrots of the World (Lansdowne Editions - 1973). This, the finest parrot book of this century, is now in its third and final edition. Following this was Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds (William Collins Publishers - 1977), a magnificent volume on these spectacular bird groups which resulted largely from Bill's extensive field studies in New Guinea. Then came Australian Parrots, 2nd edition (Lansdowne Editions - 1981), for which Bill created all new paintings, choosing not to use any that had illustrated Parrots of the World. The last joint venture by this author-artist team is the tremendous three part, six volume series, Kingfishers and Related Birds (Lansdowne Editions - 1983 - ). Part 2, Volume II of this series will probably be released about the time this essay appears and Bill Cooper is now completing the paintings which will illustrate the two volumes of Part 3 (the hornbills). It has been announced that this will be the last joint undertaking by the ForshawCooper team, a very sad note for the ornithological community.
Bill's meticulous attention to detail and scientific accuracy together with his vast technical knowledge of the birds and ability with the brush results in true ornithological masterpieces. His paintings are found in private collections throughout the world. The ultimate recognition of the artistic merits of Bill's work was bestowed upon him when the Australian government purchased, for inclusion in their National Gallery, all of the original paintings for Parrots of the World, 1st edition, and the Papua New Guinea government did the same thing for all of the Birds of Paradise and Bowerbirds originals!
In the recent book Masterpieces of Bird Art- 700 Years of Ornithological Illustration, author Roger F. Pasquier states of Bill Cooper ' 'The foremost practitioner today (of the Gouldian style) is William T. Cooper", and "Cooper, an Australian, is the most accomplished living painter working in the Gouldian style". The Gouldian style is simply the style for which Bill Cooper is best known. This is the style which predominates the hundreds of watercolor, acrylic and gouache illustrations in his numerous books. In addition to the Gouldian style, however, Bill does large, very spectacular, full background habitat scenes in oils and alkyds on canvas. Some of the more recent examples of these are: