Friday, April 24, 2009

American Goldfinch



Thanks to bidders and watchers

American Goldfinch
This painting is 7 x 5", oil on board, unframed

SOLD

It would be hard to argue that anyone has more lovely summer finery than the diminutive male Goldfinch. In the winter he wears olive-brown like his mate, but in summer he is the most stunning shade of yellow. He is such a welcome resident in our yard and we love to watch him dart about and hear his call "per-chik-o-ree." Goldfinches love thistle seed both as food and a source of nesting material. They use the thistle down to line their nests. They delay breeding until mid-to-late summer when the seeds and thistledown are available.

The Goldfinch has captured the hearts of poets and painters alike. Raphael and Tiepolo both painted the Madonna of the Goldfinch, showing Mother and Child with a Goldfinch. Goya painted Don Manuel Osorio de Zuniga with a magpie and cage full of European Goldfinches.

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