Only 250 giclees of each image in the Living Endemic Birds of Hawai’i series will ever be reproduced. The originals were commissioned to bring awareness and support to San Diego Zoo's Hawaii Endangered Bird Conservation Program.
"Marian Berger's paintings, modeled after those of John James Audubon's Birds of America, are here reproduced as high quality giclees by Karen Kaufman, who owns and operates one of the top fine arts reproduction studios in all of Hawai'i.
Each painting is meticulously reproduced using top-of-the-line archival grade inks with an expected life of 100+ years. The paper is high quality, acid free, 100% cotton rag, natural white, heavy weight (310g) and thick (19mil). It is also textured to produce the luxurious appearance and feel of handmade papers of the 19th century.
In addition, each print is lightly embossed in the lower left hand corner with an image of the Hawaiian Islands and the initials LEBH (for the Living Endemic Birds of Hawai'i). This physical "watermark", only visible on close inspection, marks the print as original, and echos the watermarks of Audubon's great works.
Lastly, the edges of each print are manually deckled to produce a fine, handcrafted look...again similar to Audubon's original prints... making them suitable for either matting or floating with the edges fully exposed. The final result...a masterpiece nearly indistinguishable from the originals.
This Royal Octavo size measures 6.5 x 10.25 inches.
The I'iwi (Vestiaria Coccinea) is shown on 'Oha wai (Clermontia hawaiiensis).
Additional information from R. Shirley's website:
Also known as a Scarlet Honeycreeper.
From the series of thirty-three prints, Living Endemic Birds of Hawaii, by Marian Berger.
From the US Audubon Society website: "'I'iwis have one of the most widespread distributions of all native Hawaiian songbirds, occurring on the islands of Hawai'i, Maui, Moloka'i, O'ahu, and Kaua'i. Because of 'I'iwis' propensity for seasonal movements in search of flowering trees, it is difficult to assess fully population trends for this species. However, it appears that 'I'iwis are experiencing a population decline, except at higher elevation sites."
The 'I'iwi is a honeycreeper that uses its long, curved bill to eat nectar from flowers, although it also eats some insects. It is found in koa and ohi'a forests above 3,500 feet on Maui, Hawaii, and Kauai but is rare on Oahu and Molokai. 'I'iwi are quite territorial and will aggressively defend their established feeding territory against other nectar-eating birds, including other 'I'iwi. Because of their bright coloring, these birds are highly recognizable and are often mentioned in Hawaiian folklore.
This product was added to our catalog on Monday 07 November, 2011.
