The birds of the Finnish von Wright brothers

Three brothers von Wright - Magnus (1805-68), Wilhelm (1810-87) and Ferdinand (1822-1906) - whose forebear had fled from Scotland during revolutionary Cromwell years, became the principal artists of Finland in the middle years of the 19th century.

They grew up in the idyllic Haminanlaks country estate near Kuopio in Eastern Finland, where at an early age they learned to love the beautiful natural scenery surrounded by lakes and forests. Their love of nature was reflected in their art at all stages of their artistic work.

All three bothers were also extremely skilled illustrators of birds and animals. In Sweden, where they all worked for some time - Wilhelm even moved to Sweden permanently - their bird illustrations soon became very popular. The ornithological compendium Svenska Foglar (Swedish Birds), with illustrations by Magnus and Wilhelm von Wright, became a great success, and was followed by other zoological illustrations both in Sweden and Finland (which at that time was an autonomous Grand Duchy of Russia). The first editions of Svenska foglar are now rare and expensive collectors´ items.

These illustrations, which still from time to time are reproduced in various collections, are on a par with the best European and American illustrations of that period, as you can see yourself from the pictures added to this post.