Red & Blue Macaw Fine Art Print
A high quality fine art print on Hahnemühle German Etching art paper of a Red & Blue Macaw, painted by wildlife painter Charles Collins (c.1680-1744) in the early 18th Century.
Superb Red and Blue Macaw Fine Art Print on Museum-Quality Paper
We've meticulously reproduced Red & Blue Macaw Fine Art Print on museum-quality fine art paper, matched to size. The 6in x 8in print is produced on Enhanced Matte Art Paper [EMA], a heavy-duty fine art paper with a smooth, non-reflective finish. The 12in x 16in and 18in x 24in prints are produced on 310gsm Hahnemühle German Etching paper [HGE], an acid and lignin-free archival paper with a fine tooth, offering our highest level of detail and longevity.
Both papers are fade-resistant and colourfast, using pigment inks designed to preserve the clarity and depth of the original artwork for decades. Every print is produced to order from a high-resolution master file, ensuring sharp detail and accurate colour reproduction.
* Please note that images of Red & Blue Macaw Fine Art Print on our website are lower resolution copies of the originals, for illustrative purposes only. The actual print uses high-resolution source imagery to ensure a crisp, clear, and visually stunning final result.
The Taylor White Collection's 18th Century Watercolour Painting of the Red and Blue Macaw
Our Red and Blue Macaw comes from the original collection of Taylor White F.R.S. (1701-1772). In the mid-18th Century, White commissioned the celebrated wildlife painter Charles Collins (c.1680 - 1744) to paint a number of specimens for his collection. The watercolour of the Red and Blue Macaw was among the works Collins produced for White.
The original Red and Blue Macaw watercolour is finely painted, with remarkable detail, allowing the plumage and features of the Red and Blue Macaw to be seen in stunning clarity. This depth of colour and detail has been captured brilliantly through the digitisation process and is replicated here for your home or office decor, or as a thoughtful gift.
Taylor White, a barrister by profession and later Puisne Judge for Chester, was a keen naturalist and Fellow of the Royal Society, elected in 1725. Over nearly forty years from the 1730s until his death in 1772, he commissioned 938 watercolours of birds, mammals, fish and reptiles, including the Red and Blue Macaw, now held at McGill University and painted almost entirely by two artists, Charles Collins and Peter Paillou. White was a founding governor of The Foundling Hospital in London and served as its treasurer for the last twenty-five years of his life. His well-connected social and scientific circle gave his artists exceptional access to specimens: his second wife, Frances Armstrong, was the daughter of General John Armstrong, Governor of the Tower of London and Chief Royal Engineer, and White's artists painted the lions, wolves and other animals of the Royal Menagerie there. He also borrowed specimens from the British Museum, and received rare and exotic birds from friends, including the naturalist Joseph Banks, who sailed to Newfoundland in 1766, and William Harrison, who brought back specimens from voyages testing his father's marine chronometer.
The Red and Blue Macaw
This 18th Century watercolour by Charles Collins, part of the Taylor White Collection, depicts the macaw that Taylor White himself captioned the Red & Blue Macaw when he commissioned the original painting. Today the species is more widely known as the Red-and-green Macaw (Ara chloroptera), a name reflecting the vivid red, green and blue plumage visible across its body and wings. It is also sometimes called the Green-winged Macaw.
The Range and Description of the Red and Blue Macaw
Native to the forests and woodlands of northern and central South America, spanning Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay, the Red-and-green Macaw is the largest member of the genus Ara. Adults can reach up to 90cm (35 inches) in length, with a wingspan of up to 125cm (49 inches), and may live for more than 50 years in the wild.
The species feeds mainly on fruit, seeds and nuts, with a particular liking for the fruit of palm trees. Like other macaws, it is often seen visiting exposed riverbank clay licks in small flocks, thought to help neutralise toxins present in some of the seeds and unripe fruit it consumes.
The Habits of the Red and Blue Macaw
Highly social and intelligent, Red-and-green Macaws form lasting bonds with their mates and are typically seen in pairs or small, vocal flocks, their acrobatic displays and constant chatter a familiar feature of their native habitat. The species is currently classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, although populations in parts of its range have declined due to habitat loss and capture for the wildlife trade.
Taylor White’s 18th Century collection of watercolours, commissioned from artists including Charles Collins, forms part of an extraordinary record of birds and natural history from the period, now held in the McGill University Library. Each painting was made from life or from specimens in White’s own menagerie, resulting in a level of anatomical detail and naturalism unusual for the time. This depiction of the Red-and-green Macaw reflects that same careful observation, capturing the bird’s distinctive colouring and form with precision.
Two centuries on, these watercolours remain a valuable record of both the natural history and the artistic conventions of the period, offering a window onto how 18th Century naturalists observed and documented the birds of the wider world.
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