Robert Bateman (Originals)

Bald Eagle Series #1 (Original Art)

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Original Lithograph Enhanced with Hand Coloring
28" x 68" / 71.12cm x 172.72cm
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Year 1989

Edition 83/90

It is natural for an artist to take one subject and examine it from many different angles and approaches. You cannot say, "You've seen one, and you've seen them all" about a tree, a person or any living thing.

The bald eagle is a bird found in the kind of countryside I especially like. It may be found in a variety of habitats, but the common factor is a sense of space, privacy and the presence of water. Luckily, there are still large areas of North America that are in this category. Unfortunately, in the last few decades this was not enough.

The use of agricultural pesticides, especially DDT, caused contamination even in remote areas. Entire watersheds were suddenly polluted, and the pesticides were concentrated in the larger fish which form an important part of the eagle's diet. This caused infertility and a weakening of the eggshells. In a few years, the eagles were wiped out in much of their former territory. Now that DDT has been banned, there is evidence that they are coming back to these areas. They have just been removed from the endangered species list in the USA.