Winged creatures of every hue will  make their way to Coomaraswamy  Hall this fortnight. The birds won’t  be in cages, of course, but on lithographs  from the eighteenth and nineteenth century.  The works are attributed to a number of  artists including the well-known English  ornithologist John Gould, whose stunning  lithographs are also the finest artworks in  the exhibition. The first edition prints feature  an assortment of birds from across the  world including those found in Great Britain,  Australia and Asia, which Gould documented  from the mid-1800s onwards. 

The exhibition, titled Flora & Fauna,  features 1,600 lithographs and includes  prints of roses by Pierre-Joseph Redouté,  plants by Joseph Paxton and William Curtis  and butterflies by Vishnu Prasad. The  exhibition is the latest in a series of art sales  that animal rights group People For Animals  has organised for over 15 years. “There is  a burgeoning market that doesn’t want to  spend crores on collecting art but they would  like a chance to own quality art,” said People  For Animals co-founder Maneka Gandhi.  The works are priced between R1,000 and  R28,000 and all proceeds from the sales  will go to financing the activities of the  organisation. “With every exhibition we try to  build a new animal hospital,” Gandhi said. 

This is PFA’s second show of lithographs –  its 2007 Vintage India exhibition in Delhi  featured ethnographic works – and the prints  for both were donated by a collector in Delhi  who wishes to remain anonymous. “This is  not a collection that can be acquired in a day,”  Gandhi said. “The collector has acquired the  prints over a lifetime.”  

Flora & Fauna is on display at the Coomaraswamy Hall on Fri Aug 3 and Sat Aug 4, and at Gallery Art & Soul  from Mon Aug 6 to Mon Aug 13.