Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865-1926), In the Jungle - Tigers

Lot 242

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Pembroke, MA 02359
United States

Founded in 2005, Copley Fine Art Auctions is a boutique auction house specializing in antique decoys and American, sporting, and wildlife paintings. Over the course of the last two decades, the firm has set auction records for not only individual decoy makers, but also entire carving regions. Copley...Read more

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Lot Description

Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert (1865-1926)
In the Jungle - Tigers, 1911
signed "Wilh. Kuhnert" lower left
oil on board, 14 1/2 by 24 1/2 in.
titled and dated on The Fine Art Society, London label on back painted in red "2. 7 10" lower left

The visceral power of the tiger has been recognized since the beginning of mankind. The lord of the jungle is remarkable not only for its strength and dexterity, but for its beauty and grace. A fixture in ancient mythology and lore, the tiger represents royalty, fearlessness, and wrath in Asian culture, and is one of the twelve Chinese zodiac animals.

The largest of the cat species, the tiger has a body length of up to eleven feet and a maximum recorded weight of seven hundred pounds. The tiger, along with the lion, African elephant, leopard, and rhinoceros, are the five big game animals, and are considered to be amongst the most impressive creatures on the planet. As the result of a variety of social and environmental factors, the tiger's numbers have dwindled to an estimated 1,500-3,500 from over 100,000 in the early twentieth century.

A technically gifted painter from a young age, Friedrich Wilhelm Kuhnert was known for his assiduous approach to his work. Primarily focused on painting wild life, he was specifically interested in big game. Unlike most of his contemporaries, Kuhnert was not content with sketching animals in captivity, he sought out big game in the wild rather than drawing animals at the zoo. Observing these animals in their natural habitat, Kuhnert eliminated any trace of stiffness and artificiality from his paintings.

Sotheby's auction catalog noted, "The late Hansjorg K. Werner kindly confirmed the authenticity of this work in 2005. It is registered under his index no. 4216." Werner compiled the Kuhnert catalogue raisonné.

Provenance: The Fine Art Society, London, May 1911, no. 34
Winston Guest Collection
Frederick Guest Collection, by descent
Private Collection, United Kingdom, acquired from Sotheby's, New York, 2 December 2005, lot 155
Private Collection
Private Collection, Montana

Condition

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